That evening, I was writing my letter to Percy in the common room, and had almost finished, when Fred and George approached me.

"What's that you're doing?" George asked.

"Writing to Percy" I said

"And why would you be doing that?" said Fred.

"Well, I was thinking, if he can get in touch with Mr Crouch, we could have an extra witness at Ludo's trial, because he saw you make the bet with him didn't he?"

"Hate to break it to you Gin, but he didn't" Fred said

"Yeah, he only arrived after it happened" George added

"Great, so I've just wasted my time, have I?" I said

"Yep. That is, unless you want to become a pompus prat like him and are asking for advice" Fred smirked

"Oh shut up" I told them, though I smiled all the same.

March arrived, and I began anticipating the upcoming trial on the 15th, for which everyone involved had been given special permission to leave Hogwarts and head to London for, in the event that Ludo plead not guilty. Amelia Bones had asked us as well as the goblins to provide written testimony first, and if it was required, we could then testify in person.

The weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned our hands and faces every time we went out onto the grounds. There were delays in the post because the owls kept being blown off course. The brown owl that Harry had sent to Sirius with the dates of the Hogsmeade weekend turned up at breakfast on Friday morning with half its feathers sticking up the wrong way; Harry had no sooner torn off Sirius's reply than it took flight, clearly afraid it was going to be sent outside again. Sirius's letter was almost as short as the previous one.

"Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can"

"He hasn't come back to Hogsmeade?" said Ron incredulously.

"It looks like it, doesn't it?" said Hermione.

"I can't believe him," said Harry tensely, "if he's caught . . ."

"Made it so far, though, hasn't he?" said Ron. "And it's not like the place is swarming with dementors anymore.

"Still though, it's a hell of a risk to take" I said, biting my lip anxiously. I followed Harry, Ron and Hermione out of the Great Hall, and cornered them before they could head off to their first class.

"What's up Ginny?" Harry said

"Umm... look guys, I think Demelza and Amy are going to need to know about Sirius eventually"

"What?!" Harry said

"Why, Ginny they could easily turn him in, they don't know he's innocent!" Ron said

"That's what I'm saying, we need to show them that he's innocent, cause I think if they find out we've been talking to him, that will lead to loads of awkward questions, especially about what happened last year. We need to bring them along with us tomorrow. Demelza is very calm and rational, you guys know that, I'm sure she will see the truth if we explain it along with him. Amy is a bit different yes, but she will accept it eventually I'm sure. I feel like they're gonna find out eventually anyway, they've put me in a couple awkward situations where I've nearly had to reveal it before"

"So it's better they find out by us showing them than you having to tell them without us, or them finding out another way" said Hermione

"Yes, mate"

"Hmm, you do have a point I suppose. It's still gonna be a risk though"

"Doesn't seem like we've got much of a choice does it really?" said Ron

The next morning, we got them to join us on the pretence of going to an area none of us had been to before, which of course, was true, it just wasn't the entire truth. The weather was milder than it had been all year, and by the time we arrived in Hogsmeade, all of us had taken off our cloaks and thrown them over our shoulders. The food Sirius had told us to bring was in Harry's bag; we had sneaked a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table. ("We'll be out for hours, might get hungry, and we aren't made of money are we?") I told them. Well, obviously Harry was, but he didn't have many galleons on him physically.

We went into Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a present for Dobby, where we had fun selecting the most lurid socks we could find, including a pair patterned with flashing gold and silver stars, and another that screamed loudly when they became too smelly. Then, at half past one, we made our way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the edge of the village. The winding lane was leading us out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer here, and their gardens larger; we were walking toward the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay. Then we turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for us, its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying some newspapers in its mouth and looking very familiar. . .

"I say, look at that dog!" said Demelza, pointing towards Sirius

"Bloody hell, yeah, it's huge!" said Amy "must be a stray, I'm gonna go say hello to it!"

As Amy approached, Sirius backed away, a worried look on the dog's face.

"Aww, I'm not gonna hurt you" Amy said, jumping over the stile, catching up and patting Sirius's torso. He allowed this, as at the same time, Harry mouthed "It's ok, let them come, we'll explain!"

Sirius moved back to us, sniffed Harry's bag eagerly, wagged his tail once, then turned and began to trot away from us across the scrubby patch of ground that rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain. We climbed over the stile and followed.

"We're following it?" Demelza asked, confused.

"Yes, just trust us, ok?" I said

Sirius led us to the very foot of the mountain, where the ground was covered with boulders and rocks. It was easy for him, with his four paws, but we were soon out of breath. We followed Sirius higher, up onto the mountain itself. For nearly half an hour we climbed a steep, winding, and stony path, following Sirius's wagging tail, sweating in the sun. Then, at last, Sirius slipped out of sight, and when we reached the place where he had vanished, we saw a narrow fissure in the rock. We squeezed into it and found ourselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a large rock, was Buckbeak the hippogriff. Half grey horse, half giant eagle, Buckbeak's fierce orange eye flashed at the sight of them. All three of them bowed low to him, and after regarding them imperiously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees and allowed Hermione to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck. Sirius resumed human form.

At that moment, I looked at Demelza and Amy, who were frozen solid with shock and fear.