Yo! In the previous chapter's AN, I mentioned you'll get an average of two updates a year. Average. This, for example, is the THIRD update this year. That's already more than average. I'm not going to try to ONLY write two chapters a year, I'll write as much as I'm able to, for this and all my other fics, but I don't have control over how much I can write. All you have to remember is this: shit happens. Anyway, thank you to all readers so far!
When Violet woke up, she wasn't surprised to find herself in the hospital wing. This was starting to become a little too common for her. She sat up, brushing hair out of her eyes. Her head was hurting, and she felt a bit weak, but seemed to be alright other than that. She looked around. Rose and Ron were both in beds nearby, either unconscious or asleep, Violet wasn't sure. And not far away, Hermione seemed to be talking to Dumbledore. Violet blinked, a bit surprised at the sight, but didn't have the chance to speak before they noticed she was awake and approached her bed.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're alright, Violet! What were you thinking running off like that!? It was so dangerous!" Throwing her arms around Violet, Hermione didn't even give her the chance to say anything before she continued on in a quick and quiet voice. "Listen, we have to do something. We have to go back in time and rescue Buckbeak and Sirius so they can escape together!"
Still feeling a little groggy, Violet could only stare at Hermione. "I-what? Sorry, but-but what's happened to Sirius? Why does he need rescuing? He's innocent! We know that now!"
But it was the Headmaster, shaking his head, who answered. "I do know that, yes, and I believe everything Miss Granger has told me. The problem is that the Minister once again refuses to listen to reason."
Violet blinked. "The Minister? But...what does he-?"
"The Minister was in my office when Professor Lupin's patronus came in. The message is not private, as you may or may not know, and is spoken out loud. Cornelius heard that Sirius was on the grounds and when Severus brought all of you in, he immediately had Sirius detained again."
Violet's eyes widened. "He-he's not back in Azkaban already, is he?"
"No, no, not yet. For the time being he's been locked in the Charms tower. Cornelius is..." Dumbledore paused, hesitating for just an instant. "Cornelius wishes for Sirius to receive the Dementor's Kiss, and has gone to authorize it. If Sirius doesn't leave the grounds soon, he'll suffer a fate far worse than death."
Violet frowned, having a bit of trouble understanding. "What about Pettigrew though? Isn't him being here proof enough that Sirius is innocent? Or that he at least deserves a trial now?"
"I think he escaped during the confusion, Violet," said Hermione quietly. "When Professor Lupin-when he transformed, we were all so focused on that, so none of us noticed, but he-he managed to escape."
"Then why can't we just stop him instead?"
"We don't know where he is."
Violet shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I mean, if we have to go back in time anyway, why not just...prevent Pettigrew from escaping? If we do that, then the Minister will see both him and Sirius after he hears what's happened, right?"
Dumbledore placed a gnarled hand on her shoulder, his eyes solemn. "It's not that simple, Violet. The circumstances around Peter's escape are very dangerous. I can't allow you two to place yourselves in such harm, so I must ask that you do as I said and rescue Buckbeak and Sirius. If everything goes well, two innocent lives will be spared. Now hurry, you only have until midnight."
Violet nodded slowly, even as Hermione hauled her out of the bed and threw a thin, gold chain around her neck. Before Violet even knew it, she and Hermione were standing in an empty hospital wing, where she was promptly dragged into a broom cupboard.
"We have to figure out what to do," said Hermione.
Violet laughed hollowly. "I'm still trying to understand what's even going on," she admitted.
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione with a frown.
"I mean...why are we doing this? And why like this? And why did he tell you do to this? How did you even end up able to travel back in time?"
"Oh." For a moment, Hermione fiddled with the chain. Then, after deliberating with herself, said, "This is a Time-Turner. Professor Flitwick gave it to me back in September. It's-it's how I've been able to get to all of my classes this year. No one else in the castle has one, and I was told getting authorized to obtain one is really difficult."
Violet's eyes widened. So that was how she'd been doing it! She'd been curious about that for ages, but Hermione had never wanted to say anything about it. "I take it you were meant to keep it a secret?"
"Yes. I did want to tell you, but I didn't want to get in trouble."
"No, that's fine. I understand." Violet looked around the broom cupboard, glad at least one mystery had been solved. "Why are we the ones doing this?"
"Oh, well, your sister and Ron were both still unconscious, and this is sort of an emergency situ-"
"No, not that, I mean...why us? Why two students? Surely the Headmaster could just go up to the tower where Sirius has been locked up and sneak him out? Unless Fudge has placed guards around the tower or something. Although, the Dumbledore's supposed to be very powerful, so it can't be that difficult for him to take any guards out without them seeing him. And even if he can't do that, then why couldn't he just take your Time-Turner and come back in time to do this himself? He said it's too dangerous to grab Pettigrew, but it's not too dangerous to deal with a werewolf and a bunch of dementors?"
Hermione opened her mouth to speak, then closed it when no words came to her, her brow furrowing. "I-I didn't consider that, but you...aren't wrong. It definitely would have been easier for the Headmaster to do these things than sending us to do them. Safer too. But he was-he was very adamant that we do it. That's-that's strange, isn't it?"
"Yeah..."
"What...do we do?"
Violet bit her lip and peered around the cupboard again, thinking. "I guess we should just go along with it for now. We're already here, and it isn't like there's any harm in saving Buckbeak. We hated what happened to him anyway. We can figure the rest out after."
Hermione nodded. "Alright, try not to be seen-especially by yourself."
Violet just agreed, deciding not to think about it too much, and the two quietly slipped out of the cupboard and cautiously made their way through the castle and out onto the expansive grounds, sneaking over to Hagrid's Hut where they knew Buckbeak would be. Considering the time, they were sure their other selves were already in Hagrid's Hut. That also meant Dumbledore, Fudge, and the executioner would be arriving soon. They didn't have much time to act.
They found Buckbeak tied to a post in Hagrid's pumpkin patch and, luckily for them, he seemed to be willing to cooperate with them, bowing back almost immediately after they bowed to him, and getting up to follow them. Maybe he understood their whispers that they were here to help him, maybe he sensed their urgency, maybe he was just bored and humouring them. They didn't know which was more likely, and were too nervous and anxious to really question it. Instead, they promptly led Buckbeak into the Forbidden Forest nearby, both girls keeping a firm grip on the chains in case he decided to do something funny, and hid behind the trees.
Well that bit was surprisingly simple. They went a little further into the forest until they were sure they couldn't be seen, and then allowed themselves to relax slightly.
"Now what?" asked Hermione.
"I guess we just have to wait," said Violet. "If we can't do anything about that rat, then we can't do anything to help Sirius until he gets locked up in the tower, and that won't be for a while." Although, letting Pettigrew escape was going to be a difficult thing to do.
"Then we should move somewhere where we can see better. We won't know what's happening if we stay here. Also...I'd rather not be in the forest when-"
"When Moony runs in? Yeah, good call. We should head to the riverbank, then. That's where Dumbledore showed up, and I'm assuming Sirius was locked up right after that."
Hermione frowned. "What about the dementors? Professor Snape was saying that so many of them were attacking all of you. How will we keep them away from us?"
"A really strong patronus shows up," said Violet. "Well...not shows up, really, but is cast, I guess? It gets rid of the dementors, so I don't think we'll have to worry so long as we stay off the actual bank." She was also kind of curious to see who'd cast it in the first place. It had to have been someone pretty strong for the patronus to have been able to ward away that many dementors. How many people at Hogwarts were capable of that? The Headmaster? One of the professors? A seventh year student?
Still, taking Buckbeak with them, Violet and Hermione carefully and quietly made their way towards the edge of the forest and down to the riverbank, making sure to keep on the opposite side where Violet knew her past self and the others would be showing up. Since they knew they were going to have a little while before anything happened down here, they settled back to wait. Buckbeak seemed to have realized he was supposed to stay, so he pecked at the ground near them when they released his chains.
Violet sighed. "I'm still having a hard time understanding this," she said.
"I...it really is strange," Hermione admitted. "Now that I'm thinking about it, there's a lot that's strange about all of this. That we, two students-two third year students, were sent back to do this, of course. That no effort's being made to stop Pettigrew from getting away. That the Headmaster can't just...sneak Sirius out." She shook her head, frowning. "I suppose the Headmaster knows best, but still, it just seems..."
"Wrong?"
"Y-yes, I guess."
The girls fell silent, and Violet watched Buckbeak absently as she thought. She was having a hard time understanding any of this. Hearing everything Sirius and Professor Lupin said had already been difficult enough to understand, but things only ended up getting more confusing from there. It was hard for her to come to terms with where she was now.
After all of that, here she was, a few hours in the past, waiting for everything that had happened, to happen again so that she and Hermione could, well, not exactly intervene, but well, yeah, intervene.
A howl pulled both girls from their thoughts, and they jumped to their feet. They hadn't realized how much time had passed. That howl was surely Moony, as they hadn't heard any others last time they'd gone through this, and if that was Moony, then that meant it would be time for them to get moving soon.
"Do you know which direction he ran in?"
Violet shook her head. "I was more focused on getting to Rose and Sirius. By the time I got there Moony was already gone."
Hermione nodded. "I'll bet he won't come anywhere near the lake though."
"Why's that?"
"The dementors. I can't say I know how werewolves react around dementors, but it probably isn't good."
Violet winced. "Fair point."
And so they continued to wait, Buckbeak too, as he seemed to have once again realized the seriousness of the situation. It didn't take much longer before they saw Padfoot approach, Rose right behind him, and Violet-the past Violet, behind her. And then the dementors began to arrive from overhead, and the future girls could feel them before they even saw them.
The cold... Violet wasn't sure she would ever be able to get used to the cold the dementors brought with them. It was strange how it wasn't even just a surface cold. The cold was much deeper than that. The cold felt like it was inside her, deep inside, where no warmth could ever reach it.
They watched in worried silence as Padfoot changed back into Sirius, and as the dementors began to attack-to feed. They went after Sirius first, but Rose was quickly heavily affected too. Past Violet was the only one able to pull her wand out, but she wasn't able to do anything beyond that. At least until Snape showed up, casting his own patronus as he called out to Violet.
The doe bounded across the lake, warding the dementors away as best as it could as past Violet struggled to cast a patronus of her own.
Future Violet watched her past self, watched her fail again and again, watched her struggle, watched her panic increase, watched her fear grow. And as she watched herself, Violet began to feel this strange...irrational hatred.
Why was she so weak? Why was she never able to do anything on her own? Why did she always need someone else to save her? Even now, her past self was failing to save herself, and her other self, her future self, was just standing here waiting for someone else to come save her! How was that any good? How was she going to be able to prove herself like this? How would anyone ever look at her as anything more than a stupid, filthy orphan with a famous sister? What did the Girl-Who-Lived title even matter here when she couldn't do anything?
How would Violet ever be able to become anything if she couldn't even keep herself safe?
"Violet? Wait, what are you doing?"
But Violet shook Hermione off and, wand in hand, stepped forward out of the bushes. With one firm feeling in mind, she focused all of her attention on what she was about to do, and- "Expecto Patronum!"
It worked.
A form emerged out of the end of Violet's wand, something large and bright. It bounded out across the lake, and once it was closer to the opposite bank, Violet, shielding her eyes, was finally able to make out what it was. A leopard. But...not a normal one. No, it was a snow leopard. She could only tell the difference because she'd done an assignment on them in primary school just a few months before she turned eleven. She'd picked the animal by chance, but...maybe it'd been instinctual after all. Maybe she'd picked it then because of this being inside her.
As the patronus did its work and the dementors began to leave, Hermione pulled Violet back behind the bushes just as Dumbledore appeared on the opposite bank. Past Dumbledore probably had no idea about any of this, and him catching them would be just as bad as them being caught by themselves.
"Why did you do that!?" Hermione asked in a hiss. "You could have gotten caught! And I thought you said someone was going to show up and cast a patronus? Why didn't you just wait for them?"
Violet shook her head, feeling a laugh bubbling up inside her. "Because no one else was coming."
"How-"
"The patronus I saw was the same one I just casted. I think because it ended up being so bright, and because of the effect the dementors have on me, I couldn't see myself, just the patronus. So I think it should be alright." She shook her head again, more to clear her own mind. "I was the one to save myself this entire time." She nearly laughed at that. She'd gotten so worked up about that, and it'd been for no reason. ...Well, maybe not no reason, but still.
When Buckbeak made a small impatient sound, the girls put their attention back on the task at hand. They peeked back out from around the bushes, watching as Dumbledore and Snape left the bank with the other three who were all unconscious, and now Violet and Hermione prepared themselves.
"It should only be a few minutes now before Sirius gets locked up," said Violet.
Hermione nodded in agreement. "Once he and Buckbeak leave, we'll have to hurry back to the hospital wing. We can't linger for too long."
"Got it."
And so they got to work. With a bit of effort, they managed to climb onto Buckbeak's back, and the hippogriff took off after a running start with little hesitation. Violet had no issues with being in the air like this, but if the way Hermione was clinging to her had anything to say about it, she was utterly terrified. Violet didn't want to admit that that was kind of cute. Hermione would probably get mad at her if she said that though, so she kept it to herself.
Hermione directed Violet to the right tower, and Violet directed Buckbeak, and by the time they made it there, there was no one else in sight. Once Buckbeak landed and came to a stop, he lowered himself down so the girls could get off. Fortunately, they found Sirius quickly enough. There was a small cell, and he was locked inside it.
Why there was a cell here on the tower in the school neither of the girls knew, and if they had more time, they probably would have questioned it. Instead, they focused on the lock.
"The unlocking charm?" Hermione suggested.
"There's no way that's going to be enough though," said Violet. "Fudge is the one who had him locked up in here, and he thinks Sirius is a mass murderer. He must've put up other protection or ward spells or something, right?"
"Well, fancy seeing you ladies here," said Sirius, approaching the bars with a grin. "And Hermione's right, Violet. The unlocking charm will work just fine. The Minister's not exactly known for his competence."
"...Evidently not," said Violet in disbelief.
One alohomora later, Sirius was free once again and standing out on the tower with them, listening as they explained what was going on. He was a little surprised, but not nearly as much as Violet expected him to be. Then again, after being falsely accused and locked away for twelve years, maybe little surprised him now. Violet supposed she couldn't blame him for that.
Petting Buckbeak, Sirius seemed to hesitate for a second before turning back to them. "Thank you," he said, "both of you. You've both risked so much to save a man you know next to nothing about, and I don't think that's something I can ever repay. Rose and Ron as well."
"You can repay it by not getting caught," said Violet.
Hermione nodded in agreement, even as she glanced down at her wristwatch. "You really should leave now. They'll be back any moment and Violet and I can't be found anywhere near here!"
And so Sirius did just that. Climbing onto the hippogriff's back, the two flew off into the night, vanishing in the darkness with little attention or fanfare. Violet and Hermione watched them until they couldn't see them anymore, and then resumed their mission, hurrying back to the hospital wing as quickly and carefully as possible.
They made it back just in time to watch their past selves head even further into the past, and entered the wing once it was clear, returning to their own beds just a moment before a disgruntled Madam Pomfrey appeared, fussing over them. They let her do so without complaint, deciding not to draw any attention to themselves or what just happened. It wasn't going to be long before Sirius was discovered missing, and having an annoyed medi-witch as a witness to solidify their alibi was probably a good thing, just in case they needed it.
As soon as Madam Pomfrey moved across to the room to check on Rose and Ron who were sleep out of it, Violet groaned, sinking back down into the bed.
"Is something wrong, Violet?" Hermione asked her, sounding a little worried.
"I just realized that Theo's going to be so mad for being left out like this again."
Hermione just stared for a minute, and then started to laugh, though she tried to stifle it as well as she could before she could get scolded for 'making too much noise'. "Yes, I suppose he will be," she agreed.
Violet sighed heavily. "Well, I'll just tell him everything tomorrow." She fell asleep just seconds later, and fortunately for her, her sleep was peaceful and undisturbed.
And later that night, because she was sleeping, because everyone in the hospital wing was currently sleeping, no one noticed when Snape slipped inside quietly. No one noticed when he approached Violet's bed, brushed her hair back, and placed his palm on her forehead. No one noticed the frown that appeared on his face, or the chocolate bar he left on her bedside table. And no one noticed when he quietly slipped back out of the wing.
And Snape wasn't the only secret visitor Violet received that night. Lupin came in too, exhausted and in a great amount of pain, only just having changed back mere moments ago, he came in quietly too, heading straight for Violet's bed. He found her unharmed and fast asleep-in a peaceful sleep, by the looks of it. Heaving a soft sigh of relief, he cupped her cheek and kissed her brow. Then he checked on the other three and left the hospital wing to return to his rooms to clean up, take a few potions, and begin to pack...
Violet wasn't sure why she'd expected things would calm down. In fact, she was proven wrong the very next morning. As soon as Madam Pomfrey (reluctantly) let her leave the hospital wing, Violet went searching for Theodore, wanting to tell him about everything that happened the day before. And when she did, Theodore shook his head, looking a little annoyed.
"Yeah, you're right," he said. "I really do regret going to take that nap now. Why am I never around when these things happen!?"
"Because you're lazy?"
"Quiet, you! Like you're any better!" But he sobered quickly. "Anyway, I heard something earlier and I thought you'd like to know."
"What is it?" Violet wasn't sure why, maybe it was his tone or the expression on his face, but she was sure he wasn't about to tell her anything good.
"I heard Lupin's handed in his resignation."
"He-he's quitting? But why?"
Theodore shrugged and placed his hand on Violet's shoulder. "I don't know for sure, but he's already packing. You should go see him before he leaves. I think...you both need to talk."
With a nod and a shaky word of thanks, Violet ran off in the direction of the closest set of stairs that would take her up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. She found Lupin in his office, the door ajar. Was he waiting for someone? Was he waiting for her?
"Professor?"
Lupin glanced over his shoulder, and then smiled when he saw her. "Come in, Violet. How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright. How-how are you?"
"Tired, but I'll live."
"You're leaving?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Lupin paused in his packing, but he still didn't turn around to look at her. "What happened last night was a horrible mistake," he said seriously. "Transforming in front of students without having taken my potion? We're all fortunate that things didn't end any worse than they already did. I could have attacked you, any one of you-all of you. I could have killed you. I could have turned you." He shook his head. "It's a risk that shouldn't be taken," he said. "Never again."
"But-"
"And in any case, this isn't a secret I'll be able to keep for much longer. Theodore and Hermione were the first to figure it all out, but they won't be the only ones. I expect a number of students are going to do the same soon enough. It won't be long before the parents begin to find out and start an outcry to have me fired. It's better for me to leave on my own before it gets to that point."
Violet understood that, she really did. She hated it, hated that he was right, that it was true, but she understood that him leaving was for the best. It would keep everyone safe, including him. But even then, even then there was something she needed to ask. "Why...?"
"Hmm?"
"Why didn't you take me in yourself? Why did I have to get sent to the orphanage?"
"I-"
"I know you're my godfather," said Violet bluntly. "I've known for a while, but it just-it didn't seem right to bring it up. But if you're going to leave, and if I have to go back to the orphanage again, then I think I deserve to know the truth."
Lupin sighed heavily and now, finally, turned to look at her. He looked pale and exhausted, but his eyes were filled with a deep sadness Violet hadn't ever seen before. "It's illegal," he told her. "Werewolves are not allowed to have custody over children-not even their own, unless that child is also a werewolf."
"But-but then why did mum and dad make you my godfather?"
"The law wasn't passed until a year after you were born. None of us thought much of it at first. I had no plans to have children of my own, and well, I suppose we never truly thought something would happen to James and Lily that would leave me and Sirius with you and Rose. If I had taken you in anyway despite the law, and someone found out, you'd have been taken away from me and I'd have been either locked up in Azkaban or killed."
Violet's eyes widened. "It's that bad a crime?"
"To the wizards, yes. And that would have been an even worse result. I don't know why you were put in the orphanage, but according to the law, you're far safer there than with me." He looked down, avoiding her eyes. "I can't say I disagree."
"Why didn't you ever come visit me? In the orphanage? You could have told me about everything, and I'd have understood."
Lupin shook his head again. "There are wards placed around the orphanage preventing werewolves from even stepping foot onto the property. It isn't even that I just can't enter, but that the ward spell causes me a great amount of pain when I try."
"Did you?"
"Of course I did," said Remus, looking a little affronted. "I used to go when you were first placed there. But...I couldn't get inside. I couldn't see you."
"Why didn't you ever approach me when I was outside of the orphanage then?" asked Violet. "When I went to school, or-or something?"
"How do you think the people around you would have reacted to a shabby looking grown man approaching a little girl? Would you have been able to stand silently without getting anyone suspicious, and listen to a stranger tell you about this world? Would you have believed that stranger telling you he was once friends with your parents, or that they'd made him your godfather?"
"No," Violet admitted reluctantly. "But-but you could have written to me at least!"
"I could have."
"Then why didn't you?"
Lupin didn't answer at first, and continued on with his packing. It wasn't until he finished that he finally spoke again. "We always called Peter the coward of our little group," he said quietly. "But perhaps I'm the biggest coward of them all."
"What? No! Of course you're not!"
"I am, Violet, and I admit that. There isn't anything I can do to make it up to you."
"Yes there is," said Violet firmly, taking a step forward, expression filled with determination and defiance. "Don't ignore me once you leave Hogwarts. Write to me. I can't really get post over the summer, but once school starts again, write me a bunch of letters!"
The tears startled them both. Her tears. His tears. Lupin moved around the desk, sank to his knees, and for the first time since she'd been just a tiny little thing, he hugged her. ...She was still awfully tiny though. She could hear him apologizing over and over again, and though she tried to reassure him, she wasn't really sure what to say. She'd never had to do anything like this before, but it sort of hurt her to see him so upset.
She wasn't mad at him for any of this. It was the laws that were the problem, not him. If the laws against werewolves hadn't existed, then he could have taken her in from the very beginning, and then none of this would be happening. And maybe he should have at least written to her, she was rather miffed about that, but if he started writing to her now, then she would be able to forgive him. Just so long as he didn't start acting like she didn't exist.
"I've signed your permission slip for Hogsmeade," said Remus eventually, giving them a topic change that they both needed. He was on his feet again, picking up his battered case. "Maybe the law doesn't consider me your godfather, but it's the Headmaster who needs the form, not them, and my signature will be good enough for him." He moved to the door, then paused. "Keep that map safe."
Violet's eyes widened. "What? How'd you-?"
Remus shot her a grin. "I'm a Marauder." And then he was gone, Violet's laughter accompanying him out of the room. He was glad to hear it. It was the first time he'd heard her laugh so openly. All it did was reassure him that he was making the right decision.
The train ride back to London was quiet, although Violet supposed it usually was, at least on her part. Her friends were aware that she was upset over Professor Lupin having to leave, so they left her to her thoughts since they knew she both wanted and needed right now.
They were left alone for once, Rose seemingly having decided not to try to taunt her twin sister today, although they had no idea why. She'd been brooding over not being the one to help Sirius escape, so maybe that was it. Either way, they considered it a blessing. Violet didn't look like she was in the mood to deal with Rose today.
When they made it to King's Cross, Violet, still feeling rather morose, said her goodbyes to her friends, though found herself a little baffled when the Weasley twins, grinning widely, told her they'd see her again very soon. Having no idea what they meant by that, she shrugged it off and once everyone else was gone, began making her way back to the orphanage.
This time however, she wasn't alone on her walk. This time she had Sauron coiled around her, mostly hidden from view, his head sticking up out of the collar of her shirt. She was glad to have his company. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
And that's the end of third year. I didn't want to give away what Violet's patronus was before she even knew it, which is why I didn't give the description in the previous chapter. Here's what whatever that site was gave me as a result of answering their quiz as Violet: 'Snow Leopard-Powerful and sharp! Your patronus reflects how you tend to fly under the radar but when push comes to shove you explode with potential and action! People may underestimate you but once you strike they never forget how wrong they were.'
I thought it fit Violet pretty well and decided half way through writing second year that this was what I was going to go with, and copy/pasted the result into a draft in my email-wish I'd copied the link too, but I didn't think I'd need it again-I thought this chapter would have been up WAY before, but life tends to get in the way. Anyway, looking forward to reviews! Laterz!