"We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us," Hermione said quickly, glancing at her watch. "Before Dumbledore locks the door."
"Okay, let's go," Harry said. At the bottom of the staircase, voices reached our ears and Hermione grabbed our wrists, pulling us to press into the wall out of sight. I held my breath as Snape and Fudge walked passed, talking quietly. Once they were gone, we began moving through the corridors and stairs quickly before we heard a loud cackling. "Peeves," Harry muttered. "In here!" He pulled us into a classroom just before Peeves went past.
"Oh, he's horrible," Hermione muttered. "I bet he's all excited because the dementors are going to finish off Sirius...three minutes!" We waited until Peeves was gone and dashed out the door.
"Hermione, what'll happen if we don't get back inside before Dumbledore locks the door?" Harry asked as we ran.
"They'll know Valerie got out and she won't be exonerated," Hermione replied. "One minute!" Once we reached the entrance of the hospital wing, Hermione said, "I can hear Dumbledore. Come on!" The door opened and Dumbledore appeared, his back to us.
"I'm going to lock you in," Dumbledore was saying. "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck." He shut the door and magically locked it before turning to face us. His eyes brightening, he asked, "Well?"
"We did it," I said, tired but happy.
"Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak," Harry added.
"Well done," he replied, beaming. "I think...yes, I think you've gone too. Get inside and Miss Black, be sure to chain yourself back up. I'll lock you in." We all nodded and ran into the hospital wing. I sprinted toward the far corner and quickly did up the chains.
I had only just finished when Madame Pomfrey appeared, remarking bitterly, "Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?" She practically force-fed us chocolate until a roar rose up from down the corridor. "What was that?" Madame Pomfrey said in alarm. The angry voices grew louder and louder until Pomfrey cried, "Really? They'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"
"He must have disapparated, Severus," Fudge's voice said. "We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out-"
"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO - WITH - POTTER - AND - BLACK!"
"Severus, be reasonable," Fudge replied. "They've both been locked up, Black was chained!" The door banged open, causing me to flinch.
"OUT WITH IT!" Snape bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He marched straight up to me, grabbing the collar of my robes and lifting me off the bed. The chains clattered, causing Snape's expression to sour even more as he saw I was still chained.
"Professor Snape! Control yourself!" Madame Pomfrey screeched. Snape let me go.
"See here, Snape, be reasonable," Fudge said again. "This door and Miss Black's chains have been locked, we just saw-"
"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape screamed.
"Calm down, man," Fudge yelped. "You're talking nonsense!"
"Can I be released?" I asked, my voice sounding weak. "I was here, I couldn't have helped him. Please, I'm not the reason he escaped."
"Miss Black makes a valid point," Dumbledore said.
"She's a troublemaker!" Fudge retorted.
"They're just pranks," I countered. "We never hurt anyone."
"Valerie is correct," Dumbledore said. "Personally, I don't believe she has aided Sirius Black in any way." Fudge paused, thinking carefully before he finally sighed. "She's fifteen, Cornelius." Finally, Fudge drew his wand and walked over to me. He unlocked the chains and I sat up, rubbing my severely bruised wrist and ankles. When they had at last left, I shakily got to my feet and approached Dumbledore.
"P-Professor?" I began. "I know I've bent the rules a lot all ready, but-"
"You want permission to go after Remus," he guessed.
"Yeah," I said. "I know him. I know what to do to get him to calm down without getting hurt and he hates being alone when he changes back. Please?" With a sigh, he nodded. "Thank you." I rushed from the room, slipping on my shoes as I went. Once I got to the forest, I called, "Remus! Remus?" A soft whimpering met my ears and I rushed towards it. Remus was curled up in his werewolf form but I could tell he was about to change back. "Remus," I said softly, crouching down next to him. He whimpered again before fully changing back.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Fine," he muttered. Suddenly his eyes widened and he shot up, grabbing my shoulders tightly. "What happened? Where's Sirius? Pettigrew?"
"Calm down," I insisted. "Sirius escaped." Growing grim, I added, "But so did Pettigrew."
"D-Did I-" Remus began before he broken off, swallowing painfully. "Did I h-hurt anyone?"
"Just gave Dad a couple of scratches, but he's fine," I assured.
"What about Harry? Is he okay?" Remus asked. "What about Hermione and Ron?"
"They're all fine," I said. "Ron's leg is still messed up, but he's going to be okay."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said. "Just a broken arm and some bruises." After a pause, my smile fell and I added, "A bit of a bruised heart."
"I know," Remus sighed. "I know you hoped you could go live with him."
"Yeah," I said. "But...at least I have you." Standing, I held a hand out to Remus. "Come on, let's get you back to the castle so you can sleep. You look terrible."
"Thanks, Val," he replied sarcastically, smiling lightly as he got up.
"Just speaking truth," I chuckled. "Come on." We emerged from the forest together and I stayed with him until he was in his room at the castle. Then I left and went back to the hospital wing. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were fast asleep. Crawling in bed, I stared out the window. It was growing light and streaks of color were painted across the sky. Smiling faintly, I closed my eyes and was hit by all my exhaustion. Five second later, I was out like a light.