"Hermione!" Grace called after her friend as her and Harry followed Hermione through the stone tunnel that lead to the Sundial garden. "Will you please tell us what we're doing?" Hermione held up a hand to quiet her, and Grace turned to Harry with an exasperated look as they stopped behind Hermione. They both frowned when they noticed their figures, and Ron, standing in front of Malfoy.
"But...that – that'sus!" Harry blinked in confusion. "This isn'tnormal-" Harry was cut off by Hermione pulling the both of them under the bridge so they couldn't be seen.
"This is a time-turner," Hermione said, pulling out the gold hour glass necklace from under her jacket. "McGonagall gave it ot me first how I've been getting to my lessons all year."
"You mean we'vegone back in time?" Harry asked, blinking.
"Yes," she nodded. "Dumbledore wanted us to return tothis moment. Clearly something happened he wants us to change..." Hermione told them, and the three of them turned to look at the scene before them. They watched as Grace pulled away from Malfoy and then turned around and swung her fist into Malfoy's face. She didn't realize how hard she had hit Malfoy until she they heard the familiarcrackof her fist meeting his nose.
"Nicepunch," Harry whispered in her ear.
"Thanks," she grinned.
"Hurry, Malfoy's coming," Hermione whispered to them, and she tugged on their arms, pulling them on the outside of the bridge, out of sight.
"Not a word of this to anyone, understood!" Draco hissed as he and his friends ran past. Grace held her breath as she pressed herself against the stone wall. "I'll get that filthy blood traitor one of these days, mark my words!"
Grace's eyes narrowed, as she pulled out her wand. She hissed the tripping jinx under her breath, and Draco stumbled and fell to the ground. Harry pulled her away just in time for Draco to miss her as he looked around in confusion. When the coast was clear, the three of them moved toward the cliff.
"Look," Harry pointed to Hagrid's pumpkin patch. "Buckbeak's still alive."
"What?" Grace frowned as she came up beside him. Her eyes widened and she grinned at the sight of the Hippogriff.
"Of course!" Hermione gasped. "Remember what Dumbledore said?" Grace frowned, looking at the other girl. "If we succeed thenmore than one innocent life could be spared!"
"Buckbeak? But – but how will saving Buckbeak help Sirius?" Harry asked.
"I guess we're going to figure it out," Grace shrugged as she started making her way down toward Hagrid's hut. As they got closer, they made their way behind the giant pumpkins, and she caught Buckbeak's eye, who had been following her. She gave Buckbeak a small smile, and a tiny nod of her head before she crouched down beside Harry.
"There they come, I better hurry," Harry muttered, noticing Fudge and Dumbledore in the distance.
"No!" Hermione protested, grabbing ahold of Harry's arm. "Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we free him! Otherwise, he'll think Hagrid set him free!"
"Hermione's right," Grace shook her head, looking worryingly at Buckbeak. "If we free him now, Hagrid could be in really big trouble." Harry looked between them and nodded before turning back to watch the scene in Hagrid's hut. Grace sucked in a breath as she watched Hagrid take Scabbers –Peterfrom the flour container.
"That's Pettigrew," Harry hissed and he went to stand but Hermione took his arm and pulled him back down.
"No, Harry!" she hissed. "You can't!"
"Hermione, that's the man who betrayed my parents! You don't expect me to just sit here – "
"Yes! Youmust!" Hermione hissed, then pointed to the window. "Harry, you're in Hagrid's hutright now. If you go bursting inside we'll all think you've gone mad! Awful things happen when wizards meddle with can't be seen!"
Grace turned away from the window and saw that Fudge, Dumbledore and the executioner getting closer. "Fudge is coming and... and we're not leaving," Grace muttered, turning back to the window then to Hermione. "Why aren't we leaving?" Hermione looked from the window to Grace and shook her head with a shrug. As she turned to look back to the window, Grace noticed an oddly shaped rock and picked it up. She frowned at it, then looked up at the window then back down at the rock before hauling it. It flew through the window and hit the !
"Grace!" Hermione hissed, glaring at her.
"We aren't moving!"
"Nice shot," Harry grinned.
"Thanks," she smiled at him. Then noticed they weren't leaving yet. She took another rock and threw it at the back of Harry's head. "That hurt," he muttered, rubbing his head, remembering the pain.
"Sorry," she grimaced.
"C'mon," Hermione whispered, pulling both of them by the arm. "Any minute now we're going to be coming out the back door," Grace looked back at Hagrid's hut, and then to where Fudge and Dumbledore were as they got closer before nodding and following Harry and Hermione into the tree line.
She watched as their past selves hid behind the same giant pumpkins. She frowned her brows as she pulled down a branch and stared at herself from behind. "Is that really what our hair looks like from the back?" Grace hissed, taking a small step forward and winced when she stepped on a twig.
"Shh!" Harry quickly covered her mouth with his hand and pulled her closer. Then, as their luck seemed to not exist in that moment, the sun shined through the trees at the right angle and reflected off her necklaces. Harry quickly grasped both of them in his hand and held them close to her chest. She shared a wide-eyed look with Hermione, hoping that they weren't seen. She realized Harry's hand was pressed against her chest, clutching onto her necklaces tightly and she became so aware that he held her close. Her heart was racing, and she suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"Nothing," they heard the past Hermione speak up. "I just thought I saw... never mind."
Then a moment or so later, they watched their past selves start to make their way up the cliff. "Now, Harry!" Hermione whispered. Grace felt Harry nod his head and when he let her go, she felt as if she could finally breathe again. The two of them followed behind Harry, carefully watching as he bowed, and once Buckbeak bowed his head, Harry approached him carefully. "Why isn't Buckbeak coming?" she whispered, looking at Grace, and she shook her head. No matter how many times Harry tugged on the chain, Buckbeak simply stayed where he was. She eyed the collection of dead ferrets that were hanging, and she grabbed them, hanging them over her shoulders before slowly approaching behind Harry.
"Here, Beaky," Grace called softly, holding up a dead ferret. "Come and get the nice dead ferret," she dangled the ferret up and this caught Buckbeak's attention as he stood up. "Yum, yum," she nodded as she took slow steps back. "Good job, Buckbeak, come on," she encouraged as Harry tugged on Buckbeak's chain, helping guide him to the forest but the sound of a door opening had them freeze. All three of them stared wide-eyed as they watched Dumbledore and Fudge step out of Hagrid's hut.
"Professor Dippet planted those blackberries when he was headmaster," he said, showing Fudge something in the distance, keeping their backs turned. Grace let out a sigh of relief as her, Harry and Hermione continued to guide Buckbeak away from Hagrid's hut.
"Good Buckbeak," Grace praised as she tossed the dead ferret to Buckbeak, who jumped and grabbed it with his beak, then began eating. "Now come on," she motioned, taking the chain from Harry and tugging it. "Let's get further in and then you can have another ferret, okay?" she asked, holding up another ferret. This caught Buckbeak's attention, and he started following them through the trees.
"Now what?" Harry asked as they stopped, with the Whomping Willow insight.
"We save Sirius," Hermione nodded.
"And we do that...how?"
"No idea..." Hermione sighed, crossing her arms.
"Great plan," Grace commented dryly as she watched Buckbeak eat his ferret, while Harry and Hermione watched themselves fall into the Whomping Willow.
"I don't see you coming up with any ideas," Hermione hissed, narrowing her eyes at Grace.
"I've already got one," she shrugged, surprising both Hermione and Harry.
"You – you do?"
"Yeah," she nodded, turning to look at them. "I stunned Pettigrew, right? Well, after Harry and I run off, one of us can come back and put the full-body bind curse on him so he doesn't run away."
"Are you –thatis your plan?" Hermione asked, surprised and Grace nodded. "And what are you going to say when you try to run off again? Or how are you going to explain to Professor Snape when he see's you moments before he goes to collect you, Harry and Sirius?"
"I didn't say it was a well-thought-out plan," Grace muttered. "We have time to smooth out the little kinks-"
"Little kinks?" Hermione hissed. "I've told you already that terrible things happen to wizards that mess with time, Grace! After you ran off after Sirius, Ron and I didn't see you again until you came into the Hospital Wing with McGonagall."
"So we don't get seen," she shrugged nonchalantly and Hermione made a sound of protest. "Hermione, this ismy dad! Mywholelife all I've wanted was to know about him! Now I have the chance to do that andso much more!Imessed up by not putting Pettigrew in body-bind curse, that'smyfault! I'm not going to let the same mistake happen again!"
"Gracie... it wasn't your fault," Harry assured her gently. "None of us would've thought that Snape couldn't see Pettigrew on the ground. But it'snotyour fault..."
"I can't help but think it is..." she whispered.
"It'snot, Grace. I can't say for Sirius since well... we've kind of just met him, but IknowProfessor Lupin wouldn't want you to blame yourself," Harry assured her, and she felt her heart do a little flip in her chest.
"Look, it's Lupin," Hermione spoke up, pointing behind them at the Whomping Willow. They all turned and watched him poke the trunk with a stick, making the tree go still.
"Wicked," Grace breathed, her lips spreading into a smile.
"Here comes Snape," Harry pointed, and they watched their potions professor follow Lupin into the Whomping Willow.
"And now we wait," Hermione sighed, sitting down on a fallen tree trunk.
"Now we wait," Harry nodded, sitting next to her. Grace let out an exhausted sigh, sitting next to Harry, she leaned into his side and rested her head on his shoulder. She so tired, and wanted to sleep but until she knew her father was safe, she couldn't.
She shivered as the wind blew around them, and Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She blushed and smiled as she watched Buckbeak chase after the bats that flew around. "At least someone's enjoying himself," Hermione commented, and Grace felt herself smile as she watched Buckbeak capture a bat.
"Earlier," Harry started, gaining their attention. "Down by the lake, when we were with Sirius... Ididsee someone," Harry paused. Grace's brows frowned, thinking back at the lake. "That someone made the Dementors go away."
"With a patronus," Hermione told him. "I heard Snape telling Dumbledore when he brought us to the castle. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it..."
"It was my Dad," Harry said so surely. Grace frowned, turning her head to look at him. Something gnawed at the back of her head, it couldn't have been Harry's dad. "It was my Dad who conjured the patronus..."
"But, Harry, your Dad's..."
"Dead, I know," he said shortly with a nod. "I'm just telling you what I saw. You saw him too, didn't you Grace?"
"I don't know," she answered. "I was barely able to keep conscious, Harry," she admitted. "It tookeverythingin me to stay conscious, to watch over you and Dad..."
"Here we come," Hermione said, grabbing their attention as she stood up. Harry and Grace stood up, and her heart fell when Harry dropped his arm. She watched her father walk away, and herself follow him.
"Thank you, by the way," Grace said softly, nudging Harry with her elbow.
"For what?"
"Giving me and Dad a moment alone..."
"You don't need to thank me for that," he told her, nudging her arm with his.
"I know you wanted to talk to him too..." she shrugged, watching her awkward conversation with her dad.
"He'syourDad, Grace," Harry whispered softly. "I know how much you needed that moment," he added, and she watched her and her father embrace for the first time.
"When he's free," Grace started, turning to Harry with a smile. "We'll all be together. You, me, Dad, Mum, and...and Remus. You'll finally leave the Dursley's, and I think I can convince Mum to move away from Little Whinging. Our house in Yorkshire isn't big enough for five, but we'll get a new place, by the forest for Remus, and we could all fly during summer holidays, have family Christmas', the way it should be," she said, and Harry smiled softly at her. She may have feelings for Harry, and while it may be awkward with her parents being his Godparents and him living with them... if it meant Harry being happy, letting her feelings go would be worth it. For him.
"That sounds... nice," he nodded slowly, smiling at her.
"It's happening," Hermione spoke up, forcing their attention to her. "Lupin's transformation," Grace's eye went to Remus, watching her and her dad try to talk to him. Her heart started pounding in her ears as she watched Remus transform; her heart broke for him, knowing his pain. They saw a red light shoot from Grace's wand and hit Pettigrew, and his body falling to the ground.
"Which means Pettigrew will slip safely into the night while we just stand here," Harry hissed bitterly.
"C'mon let's go," Grace whispered and started to follow in the direction of where her and Harry had ran off to. They leaned against the trees, watching as werewolf Remus flung her father's canine form and Grace winced when she saw the black dog land. Remus turned his attention Harry after he flung a rock at Remus' head. Grace held her breath as she watched the werewolf start to make his way to Harry.
"Oouuuuuuuu!" Hermione called. Grace whipped to face her, staring at her as if she had lost her head.
"What are youdoing!" she hissed, forcing Hermione's hands down.
"Saving Harry's life!" Hermione ripped her hands away and howled again.
"Are youinsane!?" Grace hissed.
"Thanks, but we have to move," Harry said hurridly, grabbing their arms.
"Why?" Hermione asked, and Grace turned to see that Remus was making his way to them.
"Because that werewolf you sostupidlycalled iscoming this way!" Grace hissed, and then the three of them started running.