XXIX. Gratifying
Giving pleasure or satisfaction.
The teens have never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks and Hades lead the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron go next, looking like contestants in a six-legged race. Next comes Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each step as they descend, holding up his own wand, which is being pointed at him by Sirius. Harry, Jayla, and Hermione come up to the rear.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Getting back into the tunnel takes a lot of work. Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron turn sideways to manage it; Remus still has Pettigrew covered with his wand. They can see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in a single file. Crookshanks and Hades are still in the lead. Harry goes right after Sirius, who is still making Snape drift ahead of the three teens; he keeps bumping his lolling head against the low ceiling. Harry has the impression Sirius is making no effort to prevent this. "You know what this means?" Sirius says abruptly to Harry as they slowly progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
"You're free," Harry answers.
"Yes…" He replies. "But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever told you - I'm your Godfather."
"Yeah, I knew that," The raven-haired teen confirms.
"Well… your parents appointed me your guardian," Black tells him stiffly. "If anything happened to them…" Harry waits.
"Does Sirius mean what I think he means?" Harry ponders, looking at the escapee and glancing back at Jayla.
"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your Aunt and Uncle," Sirius retorts. "But… we… think about it. Once my name's cleared… if you wanted a… a different home…" Something feels as if it explodes in Harry's stomach.
"What - live with you?" Harry questions, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," Sirius says quickly. "I understand. I just thought I'd -."
"Are you mad?" He replies, his voice easily as croaky as Black's. "Of course, I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?" Sirius turns right around to look at the teen, making Snape's head scrape the ceiling, but he doesn't care. Jayla smiles, glad to see Sirius and Harry so happy and takes the wand from her Uncle, not wanting Professor Snape to get any more scrapes.
"You want to?" Black asks, surprised. "You mean it?"
"Yeah, I mean it!" Potter exclaims. Sirius's gaunt face breaks into the first genuine smile anyone has seen in a long time. The difference it makes is startling, as though a person ten years younger is shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he is recognisable as the man who laughed at Harry's parent's wedding. They don't speak again until they reach the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks and Hades dart up first, and Hades presses her paw to the knot on the trunk before the others. Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron clamber upwards without any sound of savaging branches, meaning it is safe. Jayla carefully sees Snape through the hole, then stands back for the others to pass.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
At last, all of them are out of the tunnel. The grounds are very dark now; the only light comes from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew is still wheezing and occasionally whimpering.
"I'm going to leave the Dursleys. I'm going to live with Sirius Black, my parents' best friend… Jayla's Uncle… I feel dazed… What will happen when I tell the Dursleys I'm going to live with the convict they'd seen on television!" Harry's mind buzzes.
"One wrong move, Peter," Lupin warns threateningly ahead. His wand still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest. Silently, they trample through the grounds, the castle lights growling slowly larger. Snape is still drifting weirdly ahead of Sirius, his chin bumping on his chest. And then a cloud shifts. There are suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party is bathed in moonlight. Snape collides with Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron, who stop abruptly.
"Harry…" Jayla's voice rises in the air, quivering with fear. Harry turns to look at her, who turns, looking at the full Moon. His eyes shift to Lupin, who becomes rigid, his fingers twitching. Sirius flings out his arm to make the teens stop. Harry can see Lupin's silhouette. Then Remus's limbs begin to shake.
"Oh my -!" Hermione gasps. "He didn't take his Potion tonight! He's not safe!" Pettigrew's eyes dart around, taking in the situation, then slowly shift, noting the wand trembling in Lupin's lengthening fist.
"Run," Sirius whispers. "Run! Now!" But none of them move, transfixed in their spots, watching as bristles poke through Lupin's skin. Ron is chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. He leaps forward, but Sirius catches him around the chest and throws him back. "Leave it to me - RUN!" Black steps forward, wrapping his arms around his friend and pressing close, hugging him tightly. "You know the man you truly are, Remus. This flesh is only flesh." A terrible snarling noise comes from Lupin as his head painfully lengthens. Hair sprouts on Remus' face and hands, curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's fur is on end again, backing away as Hades stalks through the grounds. As the Werewolf rears, snapping its long jaws, Moony lets out a piercing howl through the night. Harry wheels around, and with a shrug, the Werewolf tosses Black into the air, then turns, cowering into himself.
The enormous, bear-like dog bounded forward. As the Werewolf wretches itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seizes it about the neck and pulls backwards, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They are locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other as the teens stand, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. Hermione screams, alerting them to Pettigrew diving for Lupin's dropped wand. Unsteadily on his bandaged leg, Ron falls as he tries to reach for the wand. There's a bang, a burst of light - and Ron lies motionless on the ground. Another bang - Crookshanks and Hades fly into the air and back to the earth in a heap.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry yells, pointing his wand at Pettigrew, Lupin's wand flying high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you are!" Harry shouts, running towards Peter.
"Harry!" Jayla screams, running to his side. But it's too late. Peter transforms. They watch his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm and hear a scurry through the grass. There is a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry turns to see Moon taking flight, galloping into the Forest.
"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yells and swirls around to face the giant black dog. Padfoot is bleeding; there are gashes across his muzzle and back, but at his words, Black scrambles up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws fades to silence as he pounds away across the grounds. The other teens dash over to Ron.
"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispers, seeing Ron's eyes are only half-closed and mouth hanging open. He is definitely alive, as they can hear him breathing, but he doesn't seem to recognise them.
"I don't know," Harry answers, looking desperately around, but Lupin and Black are both gone… they have no one but Snape for company, still hanging, unconscious, in mid-air.
"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone," Jayla suggests, pushing her hair out her face, trying to think straight. "Come -." But then, out of the darkness, they hear a yelping, whining of a dog in pain…
"Sirius," Harry and Jayla mutter, staring into the darkness. Harry has a moment's indecision, but there is nothing they can do for Ron at the moment, and by the sounds of it, Black is in trouble. Harry sets off at a run with Jayla and Hermione right behind him.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The yelping is coming from near the lake. The three teens pelt towards it, and Harry, running flat out, feels the cold without realising what it must mean. "Oh no…" Jayla mutters, knowing what it means as she tries to run faster in her boots. The yelping stops abruptly. As they reach the lake's shore, they see why - Sirius has turned back into a man. He's crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.
"Nooo," Sirius moans. "Noooo… please…" And then Harry sees them. Dementors, at least a hundred, gliding in a black mass around the lake towards them. He spins around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more appear out of the darkness on every side, encircling them…
"Jayla, Hermione, think of something happy!" Harry yells, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that starts inside it. "I'm going to live with my Godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys." He forces himself to think of Sirius, and only Sirius, and begins chanting: "Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum!" Black gives a shudder, rolling over and laying motionless on the ground, pale as death. "He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him." He keeps saying to himself. "Expecto Patronum! Hermione, help me! Expecto Patronum!"
"Expecto -," Hermione whispers, "Expecto - Expecto -." But she can't do it. Jayla takes her friend's wand, knowing how the Dementors can turn even the bravest into a weeping child.
"I've got this, Mione," Jayla assures her, raising the wand and thinking of her wand and a certain brown-haired boy, but it soon changes to a ravenette she wasn't expecting. "Expecto Patronum!" She shouts, and the light from the wand tip moves, becoming almost corporeal. The Dementors are closing in on the three teens, barely ten feet from them. They form a solid wall around Harry, Hermione and Jayla and get closer…
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry yells, trying to blot the screaming from his ears. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A thin wisp of silver escapes his wand and hovers like mist before him. At the exact moment, Harry and Jayla feel Hermione collapse between them. "Expecto - Expecto Patronum -." Harry feels his knees hit the cold grass. Fog clouds his eyes. With a considerable effort, he fights to remember - "Sirius is innocent - innocent - we'll be okay - I'm going to live with him." Jayla feels her own strength weakening at a large number of Dementors as they barrage them with negativity, draining everything out of them. "Expecto Patronum!" Harry gasps. By the feeble light of his formless Patronus and Jayla's faltering Patronus, he sees a Dementor halt very close to them; it can walk through the cloud of silver mist they're conjured. A dead, slimy hand slides out from under the Cloak. It makes a gesture as though to sweep the Patronuses aside. "No - no -!" Harry gasps. "He's innocent… Expecto - Expecto Patronum -."
"Harry…" Jayla whispers, feeling the last of her strength wasting away as everything darkens. Harry hears Jayla fall to the ground, and he knows he's truly alone. He can feel them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest Dementor seems to be considering him. Then it raises both its rotting hands - and lowers its hood. Where there should be eyes, there is only thin, grey, scabbed skin stretching blankly over empty sockets. But there is a mouth… a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle. A paralysing terror fills Harry so that he can't move or speak. His Patronus flickers and dies. White fog blinds him. He tries to fight… Expecto Patronum… he can't see… and in the distance, he hears the familiar screaming… Expecto Patronum… he gropes in the mist for Sirius and finds his arm… they aren't going to take him…
But strong, clammy hands suddenly wrap themselves around Harry's neck. They are forcing his face upwards… he can feel its breath… it is going to get rid of him first… he can feel its putrid breath… his Mother's screaming in his ears… she is going to be the last thing he ever hears. And then, through the fog drowning him, he thinks he sees a silvery light growing brighter and brighter… he feels himself fall onto the grass. Face down, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opens his eyes. The blinding light illuminates the grass around him… The screaming stops, the cold ebbing away… Something driving the Dementors back. It is circling around him and Sirius and Hermione and Jayla… the rattling, sucking sounds of the Dementors fading.
The Dementors are leaving… the air is warm again… With every ounce of strength Harry can muster, he raises his head a few inches and sees animals amidst the light, one galloping away across the lake while the other flies above. Eyes blurring with sweat, Harry tries to make out what it is… it is as bright as a Unicorn. Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watches it canter to a halt as it reaches the opposite shore. For a moment, Harry sees, by its brightness, somebody welcoming it back… someone who looks strangely familiar… but it can't be… then it becomes blurrier as someone joins the first at the shore…
Harry doesn't understand. He can't think any more. He feels the last of his strength leave him, and his head hits the ground as he faints.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
"Shocking business… shocking… miracle none of them died… never heard the like… by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape…" Harry hears Fudge.
"Thank you Minster," Snape replies.
"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!" Fudge proclaims.
"Thank you very much indeed, Minister," Severus smiles, though inside, he's jumping for joy at the recognition.
"Nasty cut you've got there… Black's work, I suppose?" Cornelius questions, inspecting the minor cut on Snape's head.
"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley and Granger, Minister…" The dungeon bat corrects, sneering in their direction.
"No!" The Minister gasps. "What about Miss Darkmore?"
"Her wand is broken. I'd imagine she would have if she could. Black had bewitched them; I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behaviour. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape… they obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've gotten away with a great deal before now… I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves… and, of course, Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of licence by the Headmaster -." Snape rants to the Minster.
"Ah, well, Snape… Harry Potter, you know… we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned." Fudge argues.
"And yet - it is good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try to treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended - at the very least - for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister: against all school rules - after all the precautions put in place for his protection - out of bounds, at night, consorting with a Werewolf and a murderer - and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally, too -."
"Well, well… we shall see, Snape, we shall see… the boy has undoubtedly been foolish…" Cornelius agrees halfheartedly. Harry lies listening with his eyes tight shut. He feels very groggy. The words he's hearing seem to be travelling very slowly from Harry's ears to his brain, making it difficult to understand. His limbs feel like lead, and his eyelids are too heavy to lift… he wants to lie here, on the comfortable bed, forever… "What amazes me most is the behaviour of the Dementors… you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"
"No, Minister. By the time I had come round, they were heading back to their positions at the entrance…" Severus informs him.
"Extraordinary. And yet Black, Harry, Miss Darkmore, and the girl -." The Minister quizzes.
"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers and brought them all straight back to the castle." He replies, thankfully not taking credit. There is a pause. Harry's brain seems to be moving a little faster, and as it does, a gnawing sensation grows in the pit of his stomach… He opens his eyes. Everything is slightly blurred. Somebody has removed his glasses. He's lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, he can make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. Harry squints, trying to refocus his eyes. Ron's red hair is visible beneath her arm. Harry moves his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lies Hermione. Moonlight falls across her bed. Her eyes are open, too. She looks petrified, and when she sees that Harry is awake, she presses a finger to her lips and then points to the hospital wing door. It is ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape come through it from the corridor outside. Harry moves his head again in the bed, and Jayla lies to his left. She is also awake and seems to be contemplating something. Madam Pomfrey walks briskly up the dark ward to Harry's bed. He turns to look at her. She carries the largest block of chocolate he has ever seen in his life. It seems like a small boulder.
"Ah, you're awake!" Pomfrey says briskly, placing the chocolate on Harry's bedside table and breaking it apart with a small hammer.
"How's Ron?" Harry and Hermione ask together.
"He'll live," She informs them grimly. "As for you three… you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're - Potter, what do you think you're doing?" Harry sits up, putting his glasses back on and picking up his wand.
"I need to see the Headmaster," Harry tells her.
"I will not have another student trying to escape. I will restrain you like Miss Darkmore if you do not stop." The School Nurse warns him, and he looks to his left to see Jayla lying in her bed. With a closer glance, he sees her wrists tied to the side, stopping her from going anywhere. "Potter, it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The Dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment now -."
"WHAT?!" Harry jumps from the bed with Hermione following, though Jayla tries again, but the restraints are too tight. His shouts are heard from the corridor outside, and the next second, Cornelius Fudge and Professor Snape enter the ward.
"Harry, Harry, what's this?" Fudge asks, looking agitated. "You should be in bed - has he had any chocolate?" He turns to Madam Pomfrey anxiously.
"Minister, listen!" Harry says. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the Dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's -!" But Fudge shakes his head with a slight smile on his face.
"Harry, Harry, you're very confused; you've been through a dreadful ordeal; lie back down; now we've got everything under control…"
"YOU HAVEN'T!" He yells. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"
"Minister, listen, please," Hermione begs calmly, hurrying to Harry's side and gazing imploringly into Fudge's eyes. "I saw him, too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus… Pettigrew, I mean, and -."
"You see, Minister?" Snape quips. "Confunded, all three of them… Black's done a very good job on them…"
"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" The raven-haired teen roars, making the girls jump a little.
"Minister! Professor!" Madam Pomfrey scolds angrily. "I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!"
"I'm not distressed," Harry argues furiously, "I'm trying to tell them what happened. If they'd just listen -." But Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffs a large chunk of chocolate into his mouth. He chokes, and she seizes the opportunity to force him back onto the bed.
"Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave -." She demands as kindly as can be when the door opens again. It's Dumbledore. Harry swallows his mouthful of chocolate with great difficulty and gets up again.
"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black -." Harry tries to explain again, but Madam Pomfrey cuts him off.
"For heaven's sake!" She says hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist -!"
"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr Potter, Miss Granger and Miss Darkmore," Dumbledore informs her calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black -."
"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" Snape spits. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive -."
"That, indeed, is Black's story," The Headmaster confirms, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.
"And does my evidence count for nothing?" He snarls like a little boy not getting his way. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him in the grounds."
"That's because you were unconscious for most of it, Professor," Jayla growls, tugging on her restraints.
"Exactly, you didn't arrive in time to hear -." Hermione agrees, looking at the Darkmore Heiress, seeing her wrists red from moving against the ties.
"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" Snape shouts, losing his temper in front of the Minister.
"Now, Snape," Fudge gasps, startled, "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances -."
"I would like to speak to Harry, Hermione and Jayla alone," Dumbledore requests abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy - please leave us."
"Headmaster!" Madam Pomfrey splutters. "They need treatment, they need rest -."
"This cannot wait," He tells her. "I must insist." Madam Pomfrey purses her lips and strides away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consults the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.
"The Dementors should have arrived by now," Cornelius announces. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs." He crosses to the door and holds it open for Snape, but he doesn't move.
"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispers, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.
"I wish to speak to Harry, Hermione and Jayla alone," Dumbledore repeats. Snape takes a step towards him. "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," He breathes. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"
"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," The Headmaster replies quietly. Snape turns on his heel and marches through the door Fudge still holds. It closes behind them, and Dumbledore turns to the three teens. They all burst into speech at the same time.
"Headmaster! You've got to stop them! They've got the wrong man!" Jayla proclaims, tugging against the restraints again, making her wrists even redder.
"It's true, sir. Sirius is innocent -," Harry agrees frantically.
"It's Scabbers who did it!" Hermione announces, shaking her head, realising what name she said.
"Scabbers?" Dumbledore questions, looking at them.
"Ron's rat, sir. Only he's not really. Well he was a rat. You see, he was… the point is… we know the truth. Please, sir, you must believe us." She pleads.
"I do, Miss Granger. But I'm sorry to say the word of three thirteen-year-old Wizards will convince few others. A child's voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who have forgotten how to listen." Dumbledore tells them and turns to the window in the dark ward as a shooting star plummets silently through the sky. "Ah… a shooting star. If ever one was to make a wish, now would be the time. But time, I'm afraid, is precisely our problem…" As if on cue, the midnight bell chimes through the castle. "Mysterious thing, time. Powerful. And, when meddled with… dangerous. Sirius Black is in the top most cell of the Dark Tower." He looks at Hermione and Jayla. "You know the laws, Miss Granger, Miss Darkmore. You must not be seen. And you would, I feel do well to return before the last chime. If not… Well, the consequences are really too ghastly to discuss. Three turns should do it, I think. If you succeed, more than one innocent life may be spared tonight." Dumbledore hands the teens a stick of chocolate from the mountain that Pomfrey was separating earlier before leaving but stops. "By the way, when in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin… Good luck." He smiles and leaves the room. Harry glances curiously at the chocolate.
"What in the bloody hell was all that about?" Ron asks, startling the teens, who look at Ron, who is awake.
"Ron!" The teens exclaim, Hermione and Harry moving towards him, though Jayla still can't escape her restraints.
"Hey," He greets them. "What happened? Is Sirius okay?"
"Can someone get these things off me!" Jayla snaps, and the others look at her as she tries to move but can't because of the restraints. Harry gets up from his bed and moves to her, seeing the redness around her wrists worsening. He quickly unties the restraints and delicately checks her wrists, seeing the harsh redness from her tugging against the restraints. "Thanks," Jayla smiles, rubbing at her wrists, glad to have them off. "Let's go; you coming, Mione?" She asks, getting up from the hospital bed and seeing Hermione by Ron's bed, explaining what happened while he was down.
"No, I should stay with Ron," Hermione replies and gets something out from under her top, holding it out. Jayla goes over to her friends, taking whatever from her hand.
"Are you sure?" She asks, getting a nod in return. "Okay," She moves away from the beds, pulling Harry with her and looping the long pendant chain around their necks. "Sorry, Ron. But seeing as you can't walk, Mione, look after him for us…" She smiles, earning curious glances from Ron and Harry, and the bell chimes.
"Take this," Granger says, holding out her wand. "Good luck," She smiles, and Jayla takes the wand and Time-Turner pendant, spinning it three times. The dark ward dissolves. Harry has the sensation that he's flying very fast, backwards. A blur of colours and shapes rushes past them, ears pounding. Harry tries yelling but can't hear his own voice.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry then feels the solid ground beneath his feet, and everything becomes focused again. He stands next to Jayla in the deserted hospital wing, and a stream of golden sunlight falls across the paved floor from the open front doors. Harry looks wildly around at Jayla, the chain of the hourglass cutting into his neck. "Jayla, what -?" Harry questions, looking around.
"Over here!" Jayla says, seizing his arm and dragging him across the ward into the Entrance Hall.
"What -?" He tries to ask again, but she stops him.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Jayla drags Harry to a broom cupboard door, and she quickly opens it, pushing him inside amongst the buckets and mops, following him in, and then slamming the door behind them. "What - how - Jayla, what happened?" He asks, looking at her.
"We've gone back in time," Jayla whispers, lifting the chain off Harry's neck in the darkness. "Three hours back…" Harry finds his own leg and gives it a very hard pinch. It hurts a lot, which seems to rule out the possibility that he's having a very bizarre dream.
"But -," The ravenette tries to say again.
"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think - I think it might be us!" Jayla presses her ear against the cupboard door. "Footsteps across the hall… yes I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"
"Are you telling me," Harry whispers, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there, too?"
"Yes," She replies, her ear still glued to the cupboard door. "I'm sure it's us… it doesn't sound like more than four people… and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak -." She breaks off, still listening intently. "We've gone down the front steps…" Jayla sits on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious, and Harry wants a few questions answered.
"Where did Hermione get that hourglass thing?" Harry asks her, knowing the two girls are attached at the hip.
"It's called a Time-Timer," The Darkmore Heiress whispers, "and she got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. Hermione's been using it all year to get to all her lessons. Professor McGonagall made us swear we wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic, so Mione could have one. She had to tell them that she was a model student and that she'd never, ever use it for anything except her studies… she's been turning it back so she could do hours over again; that's how she's been doing several lessons at once, see? But…" She signs. "Harry, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirus?" Harry stares at her shadowy face, thinking she still looks beautiful.
"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," Harry says slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago…"
"This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid's," Jayla repeats. "We just heard ourselves leaving…" He frowns, feeling as though he is screwing up his whole brain in concentration.
"Dumbledore just said - just said we could save more than one innocent life…" He says, and it finally hits him. "Jayla, we're going to save Buckbeak!"
"But - how will that help Sirius?" She questions, looking at him, her brain not focusing as much as usual with everything that's happened in the last 24 hours.
"Dumbledore said - he just told us where they're holding Sirius - in the dark tower! Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the tower and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak - they can escape together!" Potter explains, and from what he can see of Hermione's face, she looks thoughtful.
"If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!" Jayla comments. "I don't want to see either of them killed…"
"Well, we've got to try, haven't we?" Harry questions, standing up and pressing his own ear against the door. "Doesn't sound like anyone's there… Come on, let's go…" He pushes the cupboard door open.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The Entrance Hall is deserted. They dart out of the cupboard and down the stone steps as quietly and quickly as possible. The shadows are already lengthening, and the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest gild once more with gold. "If anyone's looking out of the window -." Hermione squeaks, looking up at the castle behind them. "I so do not want to try explaining that."
"We'll run for it," Harry replies determinedly. "Straight into the Forest, all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout -."
"Okay, but we'll go round by the greenhouses!" Jayla suggests breathlessly. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!" Still working out what she means, Harry sets off at a sprint, Jayla not far behind him.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry and Jayla tear across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, pausing for a moment behind them, then set off again, as fast as they can, skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing towards the shelter of the Forest… Safe in the shadows of the trees, Harry turns around; seconds later, a little breathless Jayla arrives beside him. "Right," Jayla gasps, "we need to sneak over to Hagrid's. Keep out of sight, Harry…"
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
They make their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the Forest. Then, as they glimpse the front of Hagrid's house, they hear a knock upon his door. Harry and Jayla move quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peer out from either side. Hagrid appears in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who knocked and finds the four teens at his door. And Harry hears his own voice. "Hey, Hagrid, we wanted to see you."
"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispers, standing back, letting the teens inside, then shuts the door quickly.
"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry says fervently, watching closely.
"Let's move along a bit," Jayla whispers. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!" They creep through the trees until they see the nervous Hippogriff tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch.
"Princess, what are you doing here? How'd you get here?" Buckbeak asks, looking at them as he eats a ferret.
"I'll explain later, Bucky," Jayla whispers, ducking behind a pile of giant pumpkins with Harry and peering into the hut, seeing Hermione and Ron awkwardly embracing. "I say they start dating before we finish school."
"You're on," Harry mutters, grinning at her, when he looks toward the slope, spotting Fudge and the others approaching in a cloud of crows. "Here they come. I better hurry."
"NO!" She warns him, pulling him back from doing anything drastic. "Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we steal him. Otherwise, he'll think Hagrid set him free!" Harry nods, then looks toward the hut. Inside, Hagrid is handing Scabbers to Ron.
"That's Pettigrew -." He starts to rise, but Jayla grabs him, stopping him.
"No, Harry! You can't!" The Heiress hisses.
"Hermione, that's the man who betrayed my parents and killed your Aunt! You don't expect me to just sit here…" The raven-haired teen argues, looking at her.
"Yes! You must!" Jayla snarls, pointing inside. "Harry, you're in Hagrid's hut right now. If you go bursting inside, you'll think you've gone mad. Awful things can happen when Wizards meddle with time. We can't be seen." She calms a little. "I want him to suffer as badly as you do. I promise. We will get justice." Jayla turns, watching Fudge and the others drawing closer, making her frown and glancing at the hut. "Fudge is coming… we're not leaving… why aren't we leaving?" Just then, something catches her eye on the ground, a pebble with a swirling pattern. She instantly grabs it, jumping up and hurling it through the open window, hitting the clay jar with a smash.
"Are you mad?" Harry snaps, looking at her, but she ignores him, swiftly whistling a second stone through the window and smacking Harry on the back of the head. "That hurt." He rubs his head as if it smacked him again.
"Sorry," She whispers and spots crows dropping atop the roof as Fudge's party arrives with a rapping on the door. "C'mon. Any minute now, we're going to be coming out the back door," She warns him, quickly dashing into the tree line with Harry behind her and just in time to see their past selves with Ron and Hermione exiting the back door and slipping behind the giant pumpkins. Fudge appears at the window of Hagrid's hut and picks his nose as before; Jayla peaks her head out from behind the tree. "I knew I was forgetting something."
"Shhh!" Harry hisses, and Hermione and Jayla turn around at the pumpkin pile as the Darkmore Heiress ducks back behind the tree, accidentally stirring the branches, then peeks out and sees herself and Hermione staring curiously at the branches dancing oddly.
"What?" They hear Harry ask.
"I thought I saw… I… Never mind," Hermione says before they quickly start up the slope; leaving the coast clear, Jayla and Harry slip out from the trees.
"Now, Harry!" As Harry vaults into the patch, Jayla announces, making the crows stir, cawing at his ankles and pecking at his feet.
"It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the Hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall be executed this day at sundown…" The Committee member declares, and Harry approaches Buckbeak, who studies him curiously, a ferret leg dangling from his beak.
"It's okay, Bucky, we're going away for a while. To keep you safe," Jayla explains calmly as Harry takes the chain attached to the Hippogriff as a flint-eyed crow pecks at his hand.
"Get away!" Harry hisses, waving the crow away and accidentally yanking hard on Buckbeak's chain.
"The Committee's appointed executioner shall dispatch the condemned by means of beheading…" The Committee member says.
"C'mon, Buckbeak. Come on…" He mutters, but the Hippogriff refuses to move.
"As witnessed below." The man says, showing Hagrid the letter. "You sign here, Hagrid. Very well, gentlemen. Let's step outside, shall we…" The Hogwarts bell begins to toll, and the teens exchange a glance. Harry gives a harder tug, but still, Buckbeak doesn't budge.
"Excuse me, Minister. I believe I must sign as well…" Dumbledore announces suddenly, and Harry pulls at the chain, straining mightily.
"Oh, enough of this," Jayla mutters, popping up and dangling a dead ferret before the Hippogriff. "Here, Bucky… Come and get the nice dead ferret… yum yum…" Harry looks at her like the Darkmore Heiress has gone mad, but it works as Buckbeak gets up, trotting after them, the crows scattering and cawing around them. Harry and Jayla lead Buckbeak away when the back door suddenly opens, making them freeze, thinking they've been caught; before Fudge's eyes drift towards them, Dumbledore raises his hand and directs the attention of the others away from Buckbeak.
"Professor Dippet had those blackberries planted when he was Headmaster…" The Headmaster says, and the teens quickly shoo Buckbeak away, disappearing into the Forest just as Dumbledore concludes his reverie.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Fudge says, growing bored of the conversation, unaware of Harry and Jayla disappearing into the Forest with Buckbeak. He turns to see the Magical Beast has gone, and the Executioner approaches the pumpkin patch but stops. Quickly, the confusion of the axeman turns into anger. "But… where is it? I just saw the beast not moments ago - Hagrid?"
"Where is it?" The ready voice of the Committee member questions, moving around Cornelius to get a better look at the empty pumpkin patch. "Where is the beast?"
"It was tied here!" The Executioner shouts furiously, swinging his axe around. "I saw it! Just here!"
"Beaky…" Hagrid whispers into the air, looking around. Buckbeak hears his master's husky voice and strains against his tether, whimpering eerily. Jayla quickly tosses another ferret to distract the Hippogriff and not ruin their plan to set him free.
"How extraordinary!" Dumbledore exclaims with a hint of amusement.
"Come now, Dumbledore. Someone's obviously released him," Fudge argues, waving his arms around in frustration.
"Professor, I swear! I didn't!" Hagrid proclaims, holding his hands up. "Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!" Hagrid exclaims through his sobs.
"I'm quite sure the Minister isn't suggesting that you had anything to do with it, Hagrid. How could you? You've been with us all along." Dumbledore defends his loyal staff member.
"Someone untied him!" The Executioner snarls, looking at the Minister and Committee member.
"We should search the grounds -." Fudge demands, looking at the Executioner.
"Search the skies if you must, Minister," He retorts, mocking the Minister almost. "In the meantime, I wouldn't say no to a cup of tea, Hagrid." He turns the half-giant. "Or… a large brandy." He turns to the Executioner. "It seems your services will no longer be required." In his anger, the Executioner lifts his blade and brutally plunges it into the flesh of a pumpkin with a sickening chop! The crows scatter to the skies in a flutter of black feathers as dark as the night sky. Buckbeak keeps straining against the rope, trying to get back to Hagrid as he cries as Dumbledore leads him back inside. Harry and Jayla tighten their grip and dig their heels into the Forest floor to stop him.
"O' - o' course, Professor," Hagrid stutters, sounding weak with happiness. "Come in, come in…" Harry and Jayla listen closely. They hear footsteps, the Executioner's soft cursing, the door snap, and then silence.
"Now what?" Harry whispers, looking around.
"We'll have to hide in here," Jayla replies, looking slightly shaken. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to the Dark Tower. He won't be there for another couple of hours, this is going to be difficult…" She looks nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the Forest. The sun is setting now.
"We're going to have to move," He tells her, thinking hard. "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."
"Okay," She agrees, tightening her grip on Buckbeak's chain. "But we've got to keep out of sight, Harry, remember…"
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
They move around the edge of the Forest, darkness falling thickly around them until they are hidden behind a clump of trees through which they can make out the Willow. "There's Ron," Harry announces suddenly. A dark figure sprints across the lawn, and its shout echoes through the still night air.
"Harry. You do realise what tree this is…" Then, they see three more figures materialising out of nowhere. They watch themselves chasing after Ron. Then they see Ron dive.
"Now, behave yourself."
"Ron! Run!"
"Harry! Run!"
"There's Sirius!" Harry says as a great shape of the dog bounds out from the Forest behind the teens. They see him bowl over the teens as they drop to the ground, seizing Ron… "Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" They watch the dog pull Ron into the roots. "Ouch - look, I just got walloped by the tree - and there's you saving me - this is weird -." The Whomping Willow suddenly stills as Jayla waves her wand at the tree.
"And there we go…" Jayla mutters. "We're in." The moment they disappear, the tree begins to move again. Seconds later, they hear footsteps quite close by; Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge and the old Committee member make their way up to the castle. "Right after we'd gone down into the passage!" She hisses. "If only Dumbledore had been the one to come after us…"
"The Executioner and Fudge would've come too," Harry reasons bitterly. "I bet you anything Fudge would've told the Executioner to murder Sirius on the spot…" They watch the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from the teens' view. For a few minutes, the scene is deserted. "Here comes Lupin!" He announces as they see another figure sprinting down the stone steps and haring towards the Whomping Willow. Harry looks up at the sky. Clouds obscure the Moon completely. They watch Remus seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stops fighting, and Lupin disappears into the gap in its roots. "If he'd only grabbed the Cloak," Harry grumbles. "It's just lying there…" He turns to Jayla. "If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and -."
"Harry, we mustn't be seen!" Jayla warns him, glaring at him.
"How can you stand this?" he asks her fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitates. "I'm going to grab the Cloak!"
"Harry, no!" She snaps, seizing the back of his hoodie not a moment too soon. Just then, they hear a burst of song. It's Hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice and weaving slightly as he walks. A large bottle swinging from his hands. "See?" She whispers. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!" The Hippogriff makes a frantic attempt to get to Hagrid again.
"I want to see him!" Buckbeak exclaims.
"I know, Bucky, but it's to keep you safe and Hagrid out of prison," The Darkmore Heiress replies, and Harry seizes his rope, too, straining to hold Buckbeak back. They watch Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He's gone, and Buckbeak stops fighting to get away, drooping his head sadly.
Barely two minutes later, the castle doors fly open again, and Snape comes charging out of them, running toward the Willow. "He looks like a bat, running like that," Jayla mutters and grabs Harry's clenched fists as they watch Snape skid to a halt to the tree, looking around. He grabs the Cloak and holds it up.
"Get your filthy hands off it," Harry snarls under his breath.
"Shh," she mutters, patting his hands as they watch Snape seize the branch Lupin used to freeze the tree, prodding the knot and vanishing from view as he puts on the Cloak. "So that's it," She announces quietly. "We're all down there… and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again…" She securely ties the end of Buckbeak's chain around the nearest tree, then sits on the dry ground with arms around her ripped tights-covered knees. "Harry, there's something I don't understand… Why didn't the Dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and we held them off for a while, then I think I passed out… there were so many of them…" Harry sits beside her. He explains what he saw, how, as the nearest Dementor had lowered its mouth to Harry's, a giant silver something came galloping across the lake and forced the Dementors to retreat. Harry looks at Jayla's cute face as she seems to think hard. "I see…"
"There's only one thing it could have been, to make the Dementors go," Harry concludes. "A real Patronus. Powerful ones."
"But I wonder who conjured them," Jayla quizzes, but Harry says nothing. He thinks of the person he saw on the other bank of the lake. He knows who he thinks it could be… but how can it be? "Didn't you see what they looked like?" She asks him eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"
"No," He answers. "They weren't teachers."
"But it must have been a really powerful Wizard or Witch to drive all those Dementors away… if the Patronuses were shining so brightly, didn't it light them up? Couldn't you see -?" The Darkmore Heiress asks him.
"Yeah, I saw him," Potter replies slowly. "But… maybe I imagined it… I wasn't thinking straight… I passed out right afterwards…"
"Who do you think they were?" Jayla wonders softly, looking at him.
"I think -," Harry swallows, knowing how strange this will sound. "I think it was my parents." He glances up at her and sees her mouth agape, gazing at him with a mixture of pity and wonder.
"Harry, I hate to say this, but your parents - well - are dead," She adds quietly.
"I know that," He says quickly.
"You think you saw their ghosts?" Darkmore questions.
"I don't know… no… they looked solid…" The ravenette argues.
"But then -," Jayla muses, looking at him.
"Maybe I was seeing things," Harry says. "But… from what I could see… It looked like my Dad… I've got photos of him…" Jayla still looks at him as though worried about his sanity. "I know it sounds mad." He turns to look at Buckbeak, who digs his beak into the ground, searching for worms, but he isn't really watching Buckbeak. Jayla can tell he's thinking about his parents and Father's three oldest friends… "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs…" He looks at Jayla, who looks up at the sky. "Had all four of them been out on the grounds tonight?" He thinks of Peter, who reappeared this evening when everyone thought he was dead - is it so impossible his Dad did the same? He made him question his sanity and what he saw before across the lake. The figure was too far away to see clearly… yet he felt sure, for a moment, before he lost consciousness…
The leaves overhead rustle faintly in the breeze. The Moon drifts in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Jayla sits with her face turned towards the Willow, waiting. "Why didn't you tell us about Sirius being your Uncle?" Harry finally asks, making her look at him with a deadpan face.
"You're kidding, right?" Jayla questions, raising an eyebrow at him. "You threatened to kill him after you heard what we did at the Three Broomsticks before Christmas."
"Good point," He agrees, shaking his head. "You don't talk about her. Your Aunt, Dee."
"Davina Black. She was my Dad's younger Sister. My Aunt was the light of the Darkmore family. She got kicked out of Livermony in her fourth year and transferred to Hogwarts, where she met, of course, Sirius Black." Jayla explains, smiling fondly. "They began dating in their sixth year. My Dad didn't like Sirius at first. My Grandparents saw how bad his family were and welcomed him with open arms. They never believed that he killed her. We knew about Sirius and Davina. We heard the stories for years."
"Sounds nice," Potter muses and looks at Jayla, who looks back at him. "The pictures at your house at Christmas… Was Sirius in some of them?"
"Course, Sirius was a big part of our family. You know he's cousins with Draco's Mum. My Aunt Cissa," She informs him, to his shock.
"Wait, seriously?" Harry asks, looking at her. "Wow."
"What can I say? Pure-blood families like to stick together," The dual-haired girl says, shrugging her shoulders. She glances at the Whomping Willow after a moment. "Here we come!" Jayla whispers, and they get to their feet. Buckbeak raises his head. They see Lupin, Ron and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Then comes Hermione… then the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upwards. Next comes Jayla, Harry and Black. They all begin walking toward the castle. Their hearts start beating very fast. Harry glances up at the sky. Any moment now, the cloud will move aside and show the Moon… "Harry," Jayla mutters, as though she knows exactly what he's thinking, "we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do…"
"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again…" Harry says quietly.
"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" She snaps. "There's nothing we can do now! We came back to help Sirius. We're not supposed to be doing anything else!"
"All right!" He agrees reluctantly. The Moon slides out from behind its cloud. They see the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Then, they see movement.
"There goes Lupin," The Darkmore Heiress whispers. "He's transforming -."
"Jayla!" The ravenette says suddenly. "We've got to move!"
"We mustn't, I keep telling you -." Jayla snaps.
"Not to interfere! But Lupin's going to run into the Forest right at us!" Harry reminds her, making her gasp.
"Quick!" She moans, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The Dementors will be coming any moment -."
"Back to Hagrid's!" He suggests. "It's empty now - come on!" They run as fast as they can, Buckbeak cantering along behind them. They can hear the Werewolf howling behind them…
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The cabin is in sight. Harry skids to the door, wrenching it open, Jayla and Buckbeak flash past him, and he throws himself in after them before bolting the door. Fang barks loudly at their arrival. "Hey, shh, Fang, it's okay, it's just us!" Jayla assures him, hurrying over, scratching his ears, and quieting him quickly. "That was really close!"
"Yeah…" Harry mutters, catching his breath and looking out of the window. It's harder to see what is going on from here. Buckbeak seems very happy to find himself back inside Hagrid's house. He lies in front of the fire, folding his winds contentedly and seems ready for a good nap. "I think I'd better go outside again, you know," He suggests slowly. "I can't see what's going on, we won't know when it's time -." Jayla looks up, her expression showing her suspicion. "I'm not going to try and interfere," He tells her quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"
"Well… okay, then… I'll wait here with Buckbeak…" Jayla lies, intending to go after him later, "but Harry, be careful - there's a Werewolf out there - and the Dementors -." Harry steps outside again, leaving Jayla alone. "What an idiot…"
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry edges around the cabin once outside and can hear yelping in the distance, meaning the Dementors are closing in on Sirius… he, Jayla and Hermione will be running to him any moment… Harry stares out toward the lake, his heart doing a kind of drum-roll in his chest. Whoever sent the Patronuses will appear at any moment. For a fraction of a second, he stands irresolute in front of Hagrid's door. He knows he can't be seen but doesn't want to be seen. He desires to do the seeing… he has to know… And there are the Dementors. They are emerging out of the darkness from every direction, gliding around the edges of the lake… they are moving away from where he stands, moving to the opposite bank… he won't have to get near them… and his feet move before Harry thinks he's running. He has no thoughts in his head except his parents. "If it is them… if it really is them... I have to know, I have to find out…" The lake comes nearer and nearer, but there is no sign of anybody.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
On the opposite bank, Harry can see tiny glimmers of silver - his and Jayla's own attempts at a Patronus. There is a bush at the very edge of the water. Harry throws himself behind it, peering desperately through the leaves. On the opposite bank, the glimmers of silver are suddenly extinguished. A terrifying excitement shoots through him - any moment now. "Come on," He mutters, staring about. "Where are you? Dad, come on -."
"Harry, you absolute idiot!" Jayla hisses, making him jump as she stomps towards him and joins him behind the bush.
"They're coming. I know it," He argues, but no one comes. Harry raises his head to look at the circle of Dementors across the lake. One of them lowers its hood. It is time for the rescuers to appear - but no one is coming to help this time. And then it hits him - he understands. He didn't see his parents - he saw himself and Jayla. Harry flings himself out from behind the bush and pulls out his wand. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He yells. Jayla watches as out of the end of his wand bursts, not a shapeless cloud of mist but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. Harry screws up his eyes, trying to see what it is. It looks like a horse. It gallops silently away from him across the black surface of the lake. He sees it lower its head and charge at the swarming Dementors…
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Jayla shouts, raising Hermione's wand, casting a silver glimmer. It begins forming a shape in the air as Harry's now gallops around the lake and shakes on the ground. The Dementors fall back into the sky, getting attacked by Jayla's Patronus, scattering and making them retreat into the darkness until they're gone. The Patronuses turn. Harry caters back towards him across the still surface of the water. It isn't a horse. It isn't a Unicorn, either. It is a stag. It shines brightly as the Moon above… comes back to him… it stops on the back. Its hooves make no mark on the soft ground as it stares at Harry with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it bows its antlered head, and he realises something.
"Prongs," Harry whispers as his trembling fingertips stretch towards the creature; it vanishes. Harry stands there, hand still outstretched. He looks over to see Jayla's Patronus swooping towards them, and as it gets closer, he sees it's a Dragon, surprising him as it hovers close to her head.
"I think we're all full of surprises," She mutters when her Patronus flies away from the lake toward the castle, knowing what she has to do next.
"What are you doing?" He asks her, looking at her and wondering what she's up to as she no longer has her blazer.
"Making sure everything we did tonight doesn't fall around our ears tomorrow," The Darkmore Heiress replies and looks before her when they hear the sound of hooves behind them. "Quick thinking on saving our lives, though."
"Thanks," The bespectacled boy says. "Get behind here - behind the bush -." He tugs her over, and Buckbeak crouches with them. "I saw me when I thought it was my Dad. It's strange."
"I think Professor Lupin will be proud of you for conjuring up a Patronus that drove away all those Dementors. That's very, very advanced Magic… I'm happy for you." Jayla smiles, looking around.
"I knew I could do it this time," Harry tells her, "because I'd already done it… Does that make sense?"
"I don't know - Harry, look at Snape!" She points out toward the other side of the lake bank. Together, they peer around the bush at the other bank to see Snape has regained consciousness. He conjures stretchers and lifts the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, Jayla and Black onto them. A fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, is already floating at his side. Then, he holds his wand out in front of him, moving them away towards the castle. "Right, it's nearly time," Jayla says tensely, looking at her pocket watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realises we're missing…" They wait, watching the moving clouds reflect in the lake while the bush next to them whispers in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, ferrets for worms again.
"D'you reckon he's up there yet." Harry wonders, checking his watch. He looks up at the castle and begins searching for the Dark Tower.
"Look!" The duel-haired girl whispers. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!" Harry stares through the darkness. The man is hurrying across the grounds toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glints in his belt.
"The Executioner!" He says. "He's gone to get the Dementors! This is it, Jayla -." She puts her hands on Buckbeak's back, and Harry raises her leg. Then he places his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbs up in front of her. He unties the chain around Buckbeak's neck, letting it fall onto the ground. "Ready?" He whispers to Jayla. "You'd better hold on to me -." He nudges the Hippogriff's side with his heels. Buckbeak soars straight into the dark air. Harry grips his flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath them. Jayla tightly wraps her arms around Harry's waist, looking around the sky.
"I'm never going to get used to this view," Jayla smiles, and Harry urges Buckbeak forward. They are gliding quietly toward the Dark Tower…
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry pulls hard on the left-hand side for Buckbeak to turn. Harry tries to count the windows flashing past - "Whoa!" He says, pulling backwards as hard as he can, slowing the Hippogriff down, and they find themselves at a stop unless you count the fact that they keep rising up and down several feet as Buckbeak beats his wings to remain airborne. The teens drop down from the back of the Magical Beast and rush up the stairs to the top of the Dark Tower to find the cell holding Sirius Black. "He's there!" Harry announces, stopping in front of the cell to see Black staring at them, his jaw-dropping in surprise. He leaps from his bench, hurrying to the bars, looking at them.
"You shouldn't be here," Sirius warns the teens.
"Stand back!" Jayla tells him, taking out the wand and stepping before the bars, but Sirius doesn't move. "Out of the way!" She pushes past Harry and raises her wand. "Alohomora!" She tries, and Sirius tests the iron door, but it's still locked. "Yeah, I didn't expect that to work." She tilts her head and raises her wand again. Snape and Fudge are drawing closer as they walk up the long staircase. Jayla tries to spell after spell with Hermione's wand flashing. "Dunamis! Liberare! Annihilare! Emancipare! No. No. No. No."
"You might try -," Sirius suggests, earning an annoyed look from the Darkmore.
"Quiet! I'm trying to think." She paces, muttering to herself furiously, then stops, turning back to the cell. "BOMBARDA!" She blasts the cell door, making it rocket to the sky.
"That'll do," He muses, stepping out of the cell and following the teen to Buckbeak, who moves closer as they run over to him before Fudge and Snape arrive and soar off into the sky as they reach the top of the Dark Tower.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Sirius laughs as they fly over Hogwarts, the wind blowing in their hair. "You truly are your Father's son, Harry! And you are very much like your Aunt, Jayla!" Sirius compliments as Harry leads Buckbeak to go lower toward the Clocktower Courtyard.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Buckbeak lands in the courtyard, and Sirius helps Jayla down, swinging her off the Hippogriff and onto the ground next to Harry. "I'll be forever grateful for this. To both of you," Sirius says, looking at them.
"I want to go with you," Harry tells him, stepping towards him.
"One day perhaps. For some time… life will be too… unpredictable. Besides, you're meant to be here." He argues lightly, clapping him on the shoulder and looking him in the eye. "But promise me something, Harry."
"Anything," The raven-haired teen agrees immediately.
"Trust yourself. No matter the challenges you face - and I fear there will be many - you'll be surprised how many times you can find the answers…" Black says, tapping his heart, "... here." He turns to Jayla. "I know you want for the best, but sometimes we have to fight for what we have." He climbs atop Buckbeak when a shooting star arcs through the heavens. "A shooting star. Make a wish." Jayla steps in front of Buckbeak, thinking of something.
"Bucky… go to the Darkmore Manor in Bath, Somerset…" Jayla whispers. "Only there. Nowhere else. Don't listen to Sirius." Harry and Sirius look at her, thinking she's saying goodbye, and she steps aside, letting Sirius and Buckbeak fly away. The teens watch them disappear into the glittering starry night sky when it begins to rain. "Oh, God!" She exclaims, waving her arms around, dancing around, feeling more alive than anything. "We did it!" She jumps at Harry, who wraps his arms around her waist, spinning her around, and she spreads her arms out as they spin around in a circle. They cool down, looking at each other, and Jayla moves closer, about to kiss Harry, when they hear a chime of the school bell. They turn around to look at the Clock Tower. "We have to go." Jayla grabs Harry's hand, and they run into the castle, soaking wet, passing the clock mechanism and going through the corridors before the last chime of the bell.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The Clock Tower bell chimes as Harry and Jayla run through the corridors, making it outside the hospital wing to see the door open, and Dumbledore backs out. "By the way, when in doubt, I always find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin… Good luck." Dumbledore says and begins closing the door when the damp-clothed Harry and Jayla frantically run; the door is about to hit the jamb when he suddenly stops, looking up at them. "Well?"
"He's free - Sirius. We… we did it," Harry informs him.
"Did what?" He replies with a twinkle in his eye as he swings the door open, letting them inside before locking it and walking away.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
As Harry and Jayla step into the dark ward, they catch the faintest glimpse of themselves across the room before evaporating. Ron blinks, turning and frowning, looking at them and then at Hermione. "How'd you two get over there? I was just talking to you… over there," Ron exclaims, pointing and glancing around the room with a big frown, though Hermione glances at her friends mischievously. "Why are you both wet? How?" He looks out at the window to see the clear sky, though there are spits of rain splashing against the window.
"What d'you think, Harry, Jayla? Too much for him - everything that's probably happened tonight?" Hermione asks them, smiling cheekily.
"Afraid so. Always been a bit of the nervous type, Ron has," Harry agrees jokingly as Ron stares at them, confused as they slowly grin at him.
"Leave him alone, you two, Ron; you will never guess what happened!" Jayla beams, jumping over to join her friends.