After Everyone Has Left

Chapter Seventeen

After what felt like hours, a group of bats flew by and Buckbeak started jumping to catch them.

"At least someone's enjoying himself." Hollyn looked back at him. He's no puppy, but Hollyn felt he could be a good pet.

"Yeah." Harry watched the willow. He didn't want it to be quiet again. "Hollyn?"

"What?"

"Before, down by the lake, when we were with Sirius... I did see someone. That someone made the dementors go away." Harry said.

"With a Patronus. I heard Snape telling Dumbledore.  According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it." Hollyn explained.

"It was dad." Harry said confidently. "It was dad who conjured the Patronus." He could see Hollyn looking down.

"Harry, dad's—"

"Dead. I know. I'm just telling you what I saw."

Hollyn knew this wasn't a movie where their parents could have mysteriously come back to life. No amount of magic can change that.

"Here we come." Hollyn said quickly. She was glad she didn't have to sit in that silence.

They stood up to get a better view of themselves.

"When we free him, we'll never have to go back to the Dursleys'." Harry said hopefully. "It'll be just us. We could live in the country, someplace you can see the sky. You think he'll like that, after all those years in Azkaban."

"That'd be nice."

Hollyn smiled at the thought of it. She could see a small house in a large field with woods behind it. A barn to store Buckbeak. And a table full of food for them all to eat together, as a family.

The moon came out from behind the clouds, lighting up the sky.

"Run!" Sirius yelled at them. "Run!" Hermione's scream reached them and the sound of barking.

"Let's go." They ran along the tree-line, trying to get a better look.

Harry grabbed a rock, throwing it at Remus. The wolf got down on all fours and stalked towards them. Remus isn't supposed to eat them. Hollyn tried to recall how he left.

She lifted her hands to her mouth and mimicked the sound of wolf howling into the night.

Harry grabbed her, stopping her from making anymore noise. "What are you doing?"

"Saving our lives." She howled again, this was the one that drew Remus away.

"Great. Now he's coming for us." Harry said.

"I didn't think about that." Hollyn admitted. "Run!" Hollyn said. She felt bad turning and leaving, not waiting for Harry, but he was quickly catching up.

They kept running until finally they had to hide behind a tree before they were caught and killed.

Hollyn pressed herself firm against the tree and put her hand up to her mouth to keep her breathing quiet.

They shuffled against the tree to keep out of Remus' sight.

They kept going around the tree until Harry felt Hollyn stop. She was barely breathing and her hands were shaking. They both slowly turned their heads.

Hollyn fell back towards Harry and he kept his arms around her. There was nowhere for them to go.

Before Remus could reach them, a gust of wind jumped in front of them and Buckbeak spread his wings. His front claw collided with the wolf's head and he continued to flap his wing, making himself bigger.

"That was so scary." Hollyn admitted. She went from sitting on the ground to laying on her back. She placed a shaky hand over her chest. At this point, she didn't care if Remus came back and ate them or if she just slept in the woods all night.

Once her hand finally stopped shaking and her heart beat was normal again, Harry helped her up.

"Poor Professor Lupin's having a really tough night." Harry said. Once helped Hollyn up, he brushed off her arms as she looked at him, confusion in her eyes. "Well, for all of us. But mostly him." Harry said.

The wind was blowing. "Oh." Hollyn dropped her head when she saw the dementors flying across the sky. When would this night end?

"Sirius. Come on!"

Maybe it was adrenaline, but Hollyn felt she was running faster, even after a long night of running around.

They stopped behind a tree and saw themselves kneeling over Sirius.

"This is—" Hollyn watched as dementors flew by then, sucking their souls rom them.

"Don't worry. Dad will come." Harry assured her. "He'll conjure the Patronus."

The air only got colder as the dementors continued their attack. Each one got closer and closer to killing them all.

"Any minute now. Right there. You'll see."

"No one's coming." Hollyn said. She couldn't keep watching Sirius laying there.

"Don't worry. He will." Harry said again. "He will come."

"We're dying! No one's coming!" Hollyn almost pushed Harry forward, but it was if his own accord that he ran forward and drew his wand.

"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled it and unlike the last time, a light came from his wand.

Hollyn backed herself behind the tree, avoiding the blinding light.