Kindred Spirits

by Tailkinker

This is a work of fan fiction based on the Harry Potter series and the Sailor Moon franchise created respectively by J.K. Rowling and Naoko Takeuchi. The characters and settings belong to their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and should not be considered as part of the official canon of either series.

Shadows Rising

It seemed to Harry that the end of year exams were easier this year than they'd been in prior years. He hoped that this was the start of a trend. But his pleasure at being done with the exams was lost when he saw Hermione's tear-streaked face.

"Hermione? What's wrong?"

"They're going to execute Buckbeak!" Hermione's voice was unsteady. She thrust a note at Harry. It was a crumpled bit of parchment, written in Hagrid's untidy hand.

"That slimy bastard," snarled Harry. He turned and stalked down the corridor.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione ran behind him. "Where are you going?"

"This is all Malfoy's doing," he growled.

"Maybe so, but you can't just..." She huffed. "Seriously! What are you going to do?"

"Going to give him a bollocking," he said. He turned into the Great Hall and stalked towards the Slytherin table.

Malfoy was sitting on the side of the table closest to the wall, with his bookends to either side. He looked up in surprise as Harry approached.

"Potter! What—"

Harry grabbed the other boy's collar, dragging him off the bench and slamming him into the wall. His other hand levelled his wand at Malfoy's head.

"You getting clawed by Buckbeak was your own damned fault, and because you whinged to your Daddy, they're going to kill him."

Malfoy's eyes widened even further. "They are?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Tonight, in fact."

"I never said a damned thing to my father about that overgrown turkey," said Malfoy. "He heard about it from another student—I don't know who."

Harry hesitated. "Really?" He stared closely at Malfoy's face, hunting for any sign of deception. But the boy's face, for once, was clear of guile.

"Yeah," said Malfoy. "Your Muggleborn girl healed me, and you actually got between it and me. I knew that complaining would piss you two off. But...I owed you. So I kept mum."

Harry released him, suddenly feeling very stupid. "Sorry 'bout that, then."

"You're just going to believe him?" asked Ron, his voice laced with mistrust.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Like he said, I saved him, and he owes me." He snorted. "I know a thing or two about that."

Malfoy adjusted his shirt, and smirked at Harry. "Typical Gryffindor. Charging ahead blindly, regardless of facts."

Harry returned the smirk. "Gryffindor was the Hat's second choice for me. It wanted to send me to Slytherin." He turned and walked away, leaving Malfoy gobsmacked behind him.

"I don' want you four here when the Ministry shows up," said Hagrid. "There's no need for you lot to be seein' somethin' like that."

"It's at least partly our fault, Hagrid," said Hermione. "We should have done more research, found a precedent that would have cleared Buckbeak—"

"What ye did was lots," said Hagrid. He sighed, and picked up his teacup—a cup the size of a soup bowl, for most. "It was my own nervousness that wrecked what ye gave me. It's my fault, not yers." He sipped his tea, noisily, then set the cup down. "'Nother cuppa for any of ye?"

"I'm good," said Ron quickly. His own enormous teacup was still mostly full.

"Oh, yeah. Reminds me." Hagrid stood, and went over to a shelf. There were several pots arranged along it; Hagrid picked one up and brought it back to the table. "Yeh really ought to keep better tracks of yer pets, Ron."

Ron took the pot, and looked in. Then looked up at Harry.

"It's...Scabbers."

Harry felt a sudden rush of rage. Wormtail. Of course—Either Fred or George had mentioned that Hagrid's hut wasn't covered on the Marauder's Map. And as one of the creators of the Map, Wormtail would know that. But they couldn't afford to spook him...they needed to get him back to the castle. Just getting him in through the doors would have Lupin and Flitwick come running, thanks to their detection charm.

He forced himself to sound cheerful. "That's great, Ron! We should get him back to your dorm as soon as we can. You know...so he doesn't get lost again."

Hotaru's eyes flickered briefly towards the pot, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "You know, Ron, our pets can sometimes sense things we can't. Perhaps Scabbers is picking up the tension in this room. You know...because of Buckbeak..."

Ron's brow furrowed, catching on to Hotaru's underlying message. He exchanged a knowing glance with Harry, realizing what she was subtly implying.. "Good idea, Hotaru." He turned back to Hagrid. "Can I borrow this pot? And its lid? Just so he doesn't get away again?"

"Sure," said Hagrid. He passed the lid to the clay pot to Ron, who gently placed it on top. "Jus' bring it back tomorrow. After..." He waved a hand. "After this foolishness is done with."

"Thanks, Hagrid," said Ron. Like Harry, he seemed to be taking pains to try to sound cheerful.

"Now, you four head back up to the castle," said Hagrid sternly. "It'll be dark soon, and you're not meant to be out after dark. 'Specially you, Harry, what with Black on the loose."

"Yes, Professor," said Harry cheekily.

"None of that, now," chuckled Hagrid.

Just three more minutes, Harry told himself. They were already more than halfway across the Hogwarts campus, and the main doors of the school were just ahead.

They'd just drawn level with the Whomping Willow when Harry heard a deep, threatening growl. He turned, surprised, to see a massive dog—a coal-black Irish Wolfhound—stalking them.

"Guys—"

Before he could say another word, the Grim lunged forward towards Ron, knocking the clay pot from his hands. It smashed on the ground, and Wormtail immediately tried to run. The Grim pounced, pinning the rat under one massive paw.

Harry drew his wand, and levelled it at the dog. "Sirius Black!"

The other three gaped at him, though Hotaru's confusion quickly changed to comprehension. "Of course! His animagus form was a dog!"

The Grim hesitated, and Harry took a step forward.

"You can't kill him, Black."

The Grim morphed into a wizard—a man with wild, black hair, sunken features and grey prison robes. The paw that pinned Wormtail was now a hand, grasping the rat firmly.

"I spent twelve years in that hell," snarled Sirius Black. "Twelve years for killing this traitor! I've taken my punishment, so now I'm going to commit the crime!"

"I've already got a barrister looking into your case," said Harry. "You can't kill him. He's the proof that you're innocent."

"He betrayed Lily and James," cried Black. "Your parents, Harry! He's the reason they're dead."

"And for that, I would happily kill him myself," said Harry coldly. He heard Hotaru gasp in disbelief, and quickly pressed on. "But he has to admit what he did. He has to answer for his crimes. I want him to live with the knowledge of what he's done. What he's lost."

"Azkaban won't hold him," said Black. "It couldn't hold me!"

"Nobody knew that you were an animagus," pointed out Harry. "They'll know what he is."

Black hesitated again, then said, "You swear you want to see justice done?"

"I solemnly swear," said Harry.

Black stared at Harry, then smiled. It was a horrible sight, given the state of the man's teeth. "You might look like James, but you're so much like Lily it's scary, Pup."

He scowled down at the rat. "Don't even think about trying to change, Pettigrew. I can choke the life out of you before you're halfway turned." He stood up. "Who can you trust at the castle?"

"Moony," said Harry. "He knows you're innocent. Also, Professor Flitwick. He isn't convinced, but if we bring him Pettigrew, he will be."

"Dumbledore, too," said Hermione. "He'll see reason, and he's got the authority to do something about it. He's Chief Warlock, after all."

Hotaru stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with determination. "We should bind Pettigrew. Mr Black, do you know any spells that can restrain him? We can't afford any risks."

"Good thinking, Hotaru," said Harry. But Black was shaking his head.

"I don't have a wand, Miss. Even if I did, the only jinx I know would be Incarcerous, which won't work on a target as small as a rat." He sighed. "We'll have to move quickly. If we don't reach Moony soon, he won't be able to help."

"Full moon, yeah," said Harry. Beside him, Ron gasped.

"Professor Lupin is a werewolf?"

"Honestly, Ron," sighed Hermione. "Don't you pay attention?"

Sirius let out a short barking sound. "Of course you wouldn't care about his furry little problem." He waved towards the castle. "Lead on."

"We need to hurry," said Hotaru softly. Her arms were wrapped around herself.

Harry glanced at her, and whispered, "Stay close." Louder, he yelled, "Come on. Dementors are coming!"

All five of them turned and ran towards the school. Already, they could feel the temperature dropping, the chilling wind cutting through their robes.

"I thought that Dumbledore banned them from the school grounds," said Hermione.

"Between Sirius and me, we've got too much Dementor bait," retorted Harry. He came to a halt as half a dozen Dementors emerged from the gloom ahead of them. "We're cut off. Is there another way into the school?"

"There's a secret passage under the Whomping Willow," said Sirius.

"It goes to the Shrieking Shack," pointed out Harry. "That's no better."

"What about the boathouse entrance?" asked Ron.

"Good idea, Ron." Harry pointed his wand towards the Black Lake. "Expecto Patronum!"

The shield formed in front of him. Black stared at him in shock.

"You can cast a Patronus?"

"Be impressed later, Padfoot," snapped Harry. "Hotaru, I need your Patronus. Mine isn't going to be enough."

But Hotaru was shivering, her arms clutched around her. "I can't..."

"Your shield?" asked Hermione. "Like on the train?"

"I don't know how—"

The Dementors swooped in. Harry turned his Patronus towards them, but Ron and Hermione were cut off from them.

"Hotaru!"

She visibly steeled herself, and pulled out her wand. "E...Expecto Patronum!"

Her dove flew from her wand, pushing back the Dementors. She swung the wand, and the dove followed its movement, cutting an arc through the air. The path between Hermione and Ron, and the school building, was clear.

"Go!" he yelled at them. "We'll get to the boathouse!"

"I can't—"

"Go, Ron! Get a professor!"

Ron nodded, and he and Hermione ran for the school doors.

The Dementors crowded in on them again, and Hotaru's Patronus faltered and vanished. She collapsed to the ground, dropping her wand.

"I got her." Harry stepped over to the girl, and with Sirius' help, got her slung over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Come on!"

The two of them moved as quickly as they could towards the boathouse, Harry twisting and turning to keep his Patronus shield interposed between them and any Dementor that approached. They reached the edge of the Black Lake, and Harry was shocked to see ice forming along the shore.

Then he looked up, and saw dozens of Dementors approaching across the lake.

The sudden pressure of the additional Dementors collapsed his Patronus. Sirius fell to his knees, then to his side, shivering. Harry raised his wand again.

"Expecto..."

He couldn't stay focused. He was shivering in fear, his senses overwhelmed.

"Expec..."

He was going to die here.

He fell to his knees, felt Hotaru slipping off his shoulder to land on the ground beside him.

He'd failed her, too.

From the boathouse, he saw a glowing, brilliant white stag galloping towards them.

And then nothing but blackness.