22. Year Three

After Ginny stormed off in a fit of anger, Fleur turned to the rest of the group with a determined look on her face. "Pardon me, but I believe I should go offer some comfort to Ginny," she said resolutely, not waiting for anyone to respond before quickly following after her.

As Fleur and Ginny disappeared from view, Harry turned his attention back to the group. "Well, since we've got a bit of a break, why don't we grab a quick bite before we continue with the memories?" he suggested, eliciting nods of agreement from the others.

Without wasting any time, they set to work making sandwiches and pouring drinks, chatting about what they had seen so far. But as they finished up, Harry realized that Fleur and Ginny had yet to return. "Should we wait for them or press on without them?" he asked the group.

Neville, eager to help, immediately jumped up. "I'll go find them," he volunteered, hurrying down the hallway before anyone could object.

Luna tried to stop him, her voice rising in alarm. "Neville, wait—"

But it was too late. Moments later, the group heard a sudden scream, causing them all to jump in surprise.

Neville soon returned, red faced and looking thoroughly embarrassed. Draco couldn't resist asking, "Neville, what did you see?"

Neville stammered for a moment before finally admitting, "I think they were… um… busy."

Just then, Ginny stormed in looking less than pleased, with Fleur following behind her, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "Ah, Neville, did you get a good view?" she teased.

Neville's face bloomed with an even deeper shade of red, as the group realized the extent of his interruption. In an attempt to steer the conversation away from the awkward moment, Hermione rose from her seat and cleared her throat. "Alright, let's get back to the task at hand. The memories, shall we?" she suggested.

"Hogwarts Year Three here we come. The year of the Marauders" Harry announced as he followed Hermione back to the lab.

###

July 31st 1993

Draco slowly made his way down the hallway towards the kitchen, eager to grab a bite to eat before starting the day. He had enjoyed his time staying at Grimmauld place with his mother ahead of Harry's birthday. As he neared the kitchen door, he heard hushed voices coming from inside. Curious, he stopped just outside and pressed his ear to the door.

"…escaped from Azkaban?" Sirius' voice boomed. "That's just great."

"Sirius, please calm down," Narcissa said in a soothing tone. "We don't want to upset Harry on his birthday."

"Upset him? He needs to know the truth!" Sirius exclaimed. "Peter Pettigrew is out there, and he'll stop at nothing to get to Harry."

Draco's heart began to race. Peter Pettigrew? The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He listened as Lupin tried to reason with Sirius, to no avail.

"Sirius, we need to come up with a plan," Lupin said. "We can't just rush off and try to capture him ourselves. We need to be smart about this."

"Smart? The only thing we need to do is catch that rat bastard before he can get to Harry," Sirius growled.

Draco knew he had to get out of there before he was caught eavesdropping. He quietly backed away from the door and crept up the stairs to Harry's room.

As he entered, Harry looked up from the book he was reading. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"Harry, you're not going to believe what I just heard," Draco said, out of breath.

"What?" Harry asked, setting his book down.

"My mother, Sirius and a friend of Sirius' were talking about some guy named Peter Pettigrew escaping from Azkaban," Draco said, his voice shaking slightly. "They seemed really worried about him coming after you."

Harry's face screwed up in confusion. "Peter Pettigrew? Who is that and why would he come after me?"

Draco nodded. "I don't know. That's just what they were saying. They want to catch him before he can get to you."

###

September 1st 1993

The Hogwarts Express had been chugging along for a while, and Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Neville had been chatting amiably in their compartment. Ginny had joined them a little while ago, eager to catch up with her friends.

"So, Ginny, how was your summer?" Hermione asked, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

Ginny grinned. "It was great! My family went to Egypt. We saw all these amazing temples and pyramids. And we even got to ride on a flying carpet!"

"Wow, that sounds incredible," Neville said, looking impressed.

"It was," Ginny agreed. "But Ron was being a total pain the whole time. He found this stupid rat and decided to keep it as a pet. He wouldn't stop talking about it the entire trip."

Before anyone could respond, the train suddenly slowed.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, looking worried.

Before anyone could answer, the door to their compartment slid open, and a cold, damp breeze blew in, bringing with it a sense of overwhelming despair.

Instantly, Harry, Neville, and Hermione were overcome by the cold, soul-sucking aura of the Dementors. Harry's screams filled the compartment as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Neville and Hermione were struggling to keep their wits about them when a Dementor was about to enter the compartment. But before the creature could carry out its intentions, Remus Lupin appeared in the hallway, his wand at the ready.

"Expecto Patronum!" Lupin shouted, and a wolf shot out of the tip of his wand, driving the Dementor away.

With the dementor repelled the train continued on, and Lupin entered the compartment, chocolate in hand. "Here," he said, handing a piece to each of them, "It helps with the effects of the dementors."

As they ate the chocolate, Neville spoke up. "Thank you, sir. We don't know what would have happened without you."

Lupin smiled at him. "It's no problem. I'm a friend of Sirius and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," he said, introducing himself to those unfamiliar with him in the compartment.

Hermione's eyes widened with recognition. "Sirius told us all about you. He said you were a great teacher."

Lupin chuckled. "Well, I hope I can live up to his expectations."

###

September 3rd 1993

As Professor Trelawney continued to peer deeply into Harry's teacup, the whole class held their breath in anticipation. At last, Trelawny gasped and dramatically leaned back in her chair.

"Mr. Potter, you have the Hamlin!" she exclaimed.

A collective gasp of horror reverberated throughout the room. Lavender, who was staring at the professor in awe, asked the question on everyone's mind. "What is the Hamlin?"

"The Hamlin is a sinister black rat," Trelawny responded solemnly, "that foretells doom for those who cross its path."

Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, "What nonsense."

Trelawny seemed to have overheard Hermione's remark. "Miss Longbottom, do you have something to contribute to the discussion?" she inquired sharply.

Hermione cleared her throat and spoke up. "Honestly, Professor, beliefs like this are pure superstition. There is no scientific evidence to support the notion that rats bring bad luck. It's well-known that the idea of rats being a bad omen stems from the fact sailors used to associate rats with death and decay, which made them a symbol of misfortune and bad luck. But we're not on a ship, and the bubonic plague is not a concern, so I think Harry is safe."

Trelawny appeared affronted by Hermione's words. "Miss Longbottom, divination is an art, not a science. You cannot always rely on what can be proven by facts and figures."

###

September 3rd 1993

The sun shone down on the Hogwarts grounds as the first Care of Magical Creatures class of the year commenced. Hermione, Harry, Neville, and Draco stood among their fellow Gryffindors, eager to learn more about the magnificent creatures that inhabited the wizarding world. Hagrid, their professor, introduced them to the hippogriff, a majestic creature that was half eagle and half horse.

As Hagrid demonstrated how to approach the hippogriff with respect. The foursome all gazed in awe at the creature, taking care to follow Hagrid's instructions to show respect and approach slowly.

When Ron's turn came he swaggered up to the hippogriff, his chest puffed out with false bravado.

"Hey, big guy," Ron said, reaching out to pat the hippogriff's beak. "See? Just like a thought. It's nothing. Just a stupid bird-horse."

The hippogriff didn't take kindly to Ron's attitude and slashed him across the arm with its talons. Ron cried out in pain as blood trickled down his arm.

"Don't worry Ron, I'll make sure my father informs the ministry about this unprovoked attack," Nott said, sneering at Harry and the others.

Hermione stepped forward, her eyes blazing with anger. "Unprovoked? You mean, except for the fact that Ron was being disrespectful and didn't listen to the warning?"

###

As soon as the memory of Buckbeak's attack on Ron ended, Draco let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin, it wasn't me this time," he says. "But I do have a little sympathy for Weasley. I know how much that hurts."

The room falls silent, and Draco can feel the others' glares boring into him, their displeasure palpable. Hermione spoke up, her tone hot with anger. "It was your own fault for not respecting Buckbeak. You had it coming."

Harry chimed in, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. "It wasn't even that bad, really. Madam Pomfrey healed you up in no time, and you milked the injury to get out of doing things."

Narcissa, who had been watching the conversation quietly until now, turned to Draco with a stern expression. "Draco," she said in a deadly quiet tone, "it sounds like you acted just like Ron and lied to me about the hippogriff being out of control and attacking you. Do you realize that your actions caused a majestic creature to be sentenced to death?"

Draco flushed red and avoided his mother's gaze, feeling ashamed of his past actions. He quickly changed the subject, "Uh, don't we have some more memories to see?"

###

Oct 31st 1993

Harry, Draco, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny, were heading back to their common room after the Halloween feast when they came across a crowd of students gathered in front of the entrance to Gryffindor tower.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, trying to push his way through the throng of people.

"It's the Fat Lady," Dean Thomas replied, "her portrait's been slashed."

Before Harry could utter another word, Professor Dumbledore emerged. "Make way, I must assess the situation," he requested.

"The Fat Lady is absent, and her portrait has been torn, Headmaster," Percy Weasley updated.

Dumbledore sighed. "I see. Has anyone seen the culprit?"

"I did!" a voice cackled from above. It was Peeves, the poltergeist, hovering near the ceiling. "It was that rat-faced Pettigrew! He shredded the painting and ran off!"

###

November 4th 1993

The Great Hall was bathed in a warm, golden light, courtesy of the morning sun. The five Gryffindors were in the midst of discussing their plans for the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend, when an owl appeared out of nowhere and landed in front of Harry.

"Looks like you've got mail, Harry," Neville observed with a grin, eyeing the owl's leg. Harry quickly untied the letter and read it over, his expression growing more solemn with each passing second.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Hermione inquired, picking up on his sudden change in mood.

"It's from Sirius," Harry said gravely, holding up the letter for all to see. "He's learned about what happened to the Fat Lady on Halloween, and he's asked Dumbledore not to let me go to Hogsmeade until they've caught Pettigrew."

"That's not right!" Ginny protested, her fiery Weasley temper flaring up. "Why should you be punished for some madman's actions?"

"Ginny, please," Hermione interjected, her voice gentle yet firm. "It's for Harry's own good. We know Pettigrew is still out there, and it's better to err on the side of caution."

Draco, who had been quietly listening all along, finally spoke up. "My mother always says that it's better to be safe than sorry. I think Sirius is just looking out for you, Harry."

"I know, but it's frustrating," Harry admitted, his disappointment palpable. "I was really looking forward to going to Hogsmeade."

"I understand, Harry," Hermione said soothingly, offering him a comforting smile. "But we should trust Sirius's judgment and I'm sure everything will be safe again, soon."

###

November 6th 1993

Harry's heart was pounding in his chest as he huddled under his invisibility cloak, listening intently to the conversation his professor's were having at a nearby table in the Three Broomsticks. The mere mention of "Peter Pettigrew" had made his blood run cold. Hermione, Draco, Neville, and Ginny were all leaning in closer, equally enraptured by the discussion.

"It's hard to believe that Pettigrew could betray the Potters like that," said Professor Flitwick. "I remember how he looked up to James as a boy, constantly following him, Sirius and Remus around."

"Betray them? He led Voldemort straight to their doorstep," spat Professor McGonagall, her voice seething with anger.

Professor Sprout shook her head in disbelief. "I can only imagine what James and Lily must have felt in their final moments, realizing that one of their closest friends had delivered them into the hands of their executioner."

Harry felt his stomach churn as he listened. So Pettigrew was the one responsible for his parents' deaths. The realization was almost too much to bear.

"How could he do it?" Harry murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "How could he betray his own friends like that?"

Draco's expression was fierce. "It's disgusting," he growled.

Hermione was deep in thought. "I wonder what could have driven him to do such a thing," she mused. "What could make someone turn on their closest friends?"

Neville ventured a suggestion. "Maybe he was scared," he offered timidly. "Afraid of what Voldemort might do to him if he didn't cooperate."

Ginny shook her head vehemently. "That's no excuse," she declared. "No excuse for betraying your friends, no matter what the circumstances."

###

December 27th 1993

It was Christmas break and Harry was grateful to have Hermione, Neville, and Draco visiting him at Grimmauld Place. Hermione was reading a thick book on advanced potion-making, while Neville was showing off his new plants he had received as a gift. Draco was examining some ancient artifacts from the Black family collection, and Harry was cleaning his shiny new firebolt, a Christmas gift from Sirius.

Suddenly, Ginny arrived in a flurry, flooing in from the Burrow. "I couldn't take it anymore! I had to get away from Ron," she exclaimed, throwing herself onto the couch.. "He won't stop complaining about his arm and how that savage Buckbeak attacked him unprovoked."

The others looked at her sympathetically. "And now Mum is coddling him even more," Ginny continued. "But that's not even the worst part. Dad came back last night and told us that the Ministry found out about the attack, and there's going to be an investigation into Buckbeak."

Hermione looked up from her book in shock. "But that's not fair! Buckbeak was provoked by Ron."

"The twins were particularly angry about it," Ginny said, her voice tinged with amusement. "They decided to get revenge and charmed all of Ron's clothing to have hippogriffs on them. Mum's been struggling to undo the charms all morning."

Draco smirked. "Sounds appropriate."

Harry couldn't help but grin at the thought of Ron's entire wardrobe being plastered with hippogriffs.

###

Feb 27th 1994

Everyone but Harry were walking through the corridors towards the Quidditch pitch, their excitement building as they talked about the upcoming Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match. Suddenly, they heard a loud voice from behind them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't a pack of Gryffindor losers," said Ron as he approached them, followed by Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott.

"What do you want, Ron?" asked Ginny, her tone indicating that she was not in the mood for his antics.

Ron glared at her then turned to Hermione. "Your bloody cat killed my rat!" he exclaimed, brandishing a crumpled piece of parchment that read "Missing: Scabbers" with a crudely drawn rat over the words.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "First of all, there are dozens of cats in this castle, Ron. Second, I highly doubt Crookshanks had anything to do with it. He spends most of his time sleeping in my dormitory."

"I don't believe you," Ron retorted, his face turning red with anger. "I saw your orange beast chasing Scabbers outside the Charm classroom, yesterday. You probably trained him to do it."

Hermione shook her head. "That's ridiculous, Ron. Crookshanks is a cat, not a trained assassin. Besides, if your rat is really missing, it's much more likely that he's just hiding somewhere."

Ron scowled at her. "You're just saying that because you don't want to admit that your mangy cat killed him. You'll pay for this, Longbottom. Just you wait."

With that, he stormed off with his Slytherin friends in tow. Hermione, Neville, Draco and Ginny exchanged exasperated glances before continuing on to the Quidditch match.

###

April 30th 1994

It was a somber day as Hagrid led the students back from the Care of Magical Creatures class. The students had just learned that Buckbeak was going to be executed, and Hagrid had tears in his eyes as he walked with them back to the castle.

"I can't believe they're going to do it," Hagrid muttered, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.

The students walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts about the injustice of the situation. As they reached the castle, Hagrid bid them farewell and walked off towards his hut.

But before they could head inside, Ron approached them with Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott.

"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Ron sneered. "Can't handle a little bit of bad news?"

"Ron, shut up," Hermione said, shaking her head. "You are to blame for this."

Ron's face twisted in anger. "What, are you going to be pathetic and cry too, Longbottom?"

Hermione surged forward, her fist connecting with Ron's nose before anyone could react. "Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic," she seethed. "You foul, evil, incompetent boy."

Hermione turned and walked away, leaving Ron standing there with a bloody nose. The boys hurried to catch up with her.

"You know, Hermione," Draco drawled, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone punch Weasley before. It was rather entertaining."

Hermione glared at him. "I don't care if it was entertaining or not, Draco. Ron deserved it for being an insensitive, malicious prat."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I'm not saying he didn't deserve it," he said. "I'm just saying it was amusing to watch."

Hermione shook her head in exasperation as they walked down the corridor to their next class.

###

June 6th 1994

Harry, Neville, and Hermione huddled together under the invisibility cloak, peering out from the window of Hagrid's hut. They could see Buckbeak, who was tied to a stake a few feet away, while the executioner waited nearby.

"I can't believe they're really going to kill him," Hermione said, her voice breaking.

"I know," Neville replied, his eyes fixed on the scene outside. "It's not right."

Hermione turned her gaze away from the window outside, unsure she could actually watch. Suddenly she noticed some movement in the corner of the room. "Hey look I think that is Ron's rat Scabbers," she whispered.

Sure enough, Ron's rat was hiding in the shadows. Neville noticed Crookshanks slowly creeping up behind the rat. "We have to grab him, while I don't like Ron, I wouldn't want to make him right by allowing Crookshanks to eat the rat." he said, reaching for the rat and quickly stuffing the creature into his pocket.

While all three were distracted by the appearance of Scabbers, they missed what happened outside, only hearing the swish of the ax.

"We should go," Harry said, taking the lead.

As they made their way out of the back of the hut, Neville couldn't help but feel conflicted. He really really disliked Ron, but he knew it was the right thing to return the rat to Ginny, especially now that they knew it was still alive.

Distracted by his internal musings, Neville almost didn't notice the rat squirming in his pocket attempting to run away again.

Suddenly, Scabbers bit Neville's finger, causing him to drop the rat in shock. Scabbers took off running towards the Whomping Willow.

Neville took off after Scabbers, determined to catch him before he could escape. As he reached out successfully to grab the rat, a large black dog came bounding out of the forest and latched onto Neville's outstretched hand, pulling him down under the tree.

Harry and Hermione were quick to react, but the Whomping Willow was making it difficult to follow. Crookshanks appeared to the rescue and stopped the tree's movements. Harry and Hermione quickly made their way down the hole and into a tunnel.

As they walked, Hermione turned to Harry, her voice laced with concern. "Harry, that was Sirius. I recognize his animagus form. Why did Sirius drag my brother down this tunnel?"

Harry's brow furrowed as he thought. "I don't know," he said finally. "But we're going to find out."

The pair continued down the dark tunnel, until they approached a rundown looking room inside of what appeared to be a shack. Inside they saw Neville sitting on the ground holding a squirming rat, and Sirius was demanding he hand the rat over.

"Give it to me, Neville. Now!" Sirius barked, his voice sounding slightly unhinged.

Hermione noticed Sirius' erratic behavior and pulled out her wand. "Stop threatening my brother," she said sternly.

Harry pulled his wand out in support. But before they could do anything else, their wands were suddenly flying out of their hands, not having realized they had been followed down the tunnel. They turned to see Lupin holding them, his focus on the rat in Neville's hand.

"Is it him?" Remus asked Sirius, his voice low and tense.

Sirius responded, "I think so, but I can't be sure because Neville won't hand the rat over."

Harry demanded answers. "Someone start explaining what the heck is going on here!"

Remus turned to them, his expression grim. "This rat," he said, pointing to the squirming creature in Neville's hand, "is not just any rat. It's Peter Pettigrew."

Harry and Hermione gasped in shock. "Peter Pettigrew? The one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort?" Harry asked, feeling a surge of anger rise within him.

Remus nodded solemnly. "Yes, the very same. He must have used his rat form to escape Azkaban. The ministry was never aware of the three unregistered Animagi, from my time at Hogwarts."

Hermione looked at her professor curiously. "If the ministry isn't aware, how do you know?"

"Because I was friends with them." Remus pulled the Marauder's Map from his back pocket. 'Moony' he said as he pointed to himself. "Padfoot" he continued as he pointed to Sirius. "Wormtail" he finished as he pointed to the rat struggling in Neville's hands.

"Wait who was Prongs?" Harry asked.

"Prongs was your father, Harry. Unbeknownst to me the three of them turned into Animagi to keep my company as I dealt with 'my furry little problem' as James used to say" Remus replied.

Sirius looked at Neville, his eyes pleading. "We can continue the history lesson later. Please, Neville, we need that rat. Pettigrew has to pay for what he did to James and Lily."

"I agree whole-heartedly." Remus added.

As Neville started to hand the rat over to Sirius, Hermione stepped forward and interrupted, "Wait a minute. We can't just let you take revenge, Sirius. It's not worth it. You'll get in trouble."

Sirius glares at her, but Hermione doesn't back down. "We need to turn him over to the authorities, let them handle it. It's not worth risking your freedom, Sirius. Think of Harry. You could end up in Azkaban, then where will he be?"

Sirius thinks for a moment, looking down at the rat in Neville's hands. "You're right," he says finally. 'He would go to his aunt. I remember Lily once describing Petunia as a terrible person not fit to raise a hamster. I can't leave Harry with her. I'll do it.' He then pulls out his wand "But first let's make him more presentable…"

###

"Hermione, does this mean we didn't end up using the time-turner to go back in time and save Buckbeak or fighting against hundreds of dementors? I mean that was when I learned how to cast a patronus" Harry inquired anxiously, his concern palpable.

Hermione examined the timeline and paused for a moment deep in thought before responding. "Given there is little variation for the two of us, I suspect that events transpired similarly after we exited the tunnel. Moreover, Hagrid's data doesn't show any deviations either, which I would expect if we hadn't rescued Buckbeak."

"Hold on one moment. Are you telling me as a third year student at Hogwarts, you had access to a time-turner?" Narcissa interjected incredulously, not entirely convinced it was plausible. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't have been that reckless.

"Yes, I wanted to take all the courses," Hermione replied sheepishly.

Narcissa's eyes widened in shock, and Ginny couldn't help but smirk at the older woman's reaction. "You'd better brace yourself, Narcissa," she said with a laugh. "Things only get crazier from here on out."