「013. time turners and time wasters 」
THE CRISIS, from what it looked like, appeared to be averted. professor snape was hovered behind a succession of crookshanks in the front with lupin, pettigrew and ron behind. the rear end of the group including honey behind ron and then hermione behind followed by harry and sirius at the very back. for now, it seemed like nothing was the mater- which shouldn't have set a bad feeling into honey, but her mind worked in mysterious ways (as did this ruddy inner eye).
it was awkward, that much could be said. not walking, but walking beside/in front of hermione. they had yet to talk at all, and frankly there were a bit preoccupied to really sit down and try to 'talk it out' or 'shout it out'.
"at least we're not dead," was hermione's conversation starter.
honey rated it a 10/10 gold stars because it was straight to the point and sounded like something honey would say too.
"such a messy day," muttered honey, "first buckbeak-" she winced, "-then this? i'm just glad sirius black isn't a mass murderer."
they were a few strides ahead of sirius and harry, who seemed to be having their own little conversation in the back. as careless and thoughtless as honey could be- she knew not to interrupt them, regardless of what they might be saying or how interesting it might be (or perhaps, how boring it might be). all honey could tell from the conversation was that it wasn't overly depressing. which was, considering the circumstance, a major positive.
"to think," hermione said to her, "sirius could be free."
"the press will eat this up," honey said, "they're going to criticise the ministry so badly. it might look like sunshine and daisies right now but it's going to be difficult for him."
hermione looked like she wanted to chastise honey, perhaps correct her or do something ever so hermione-ish that she looked frightened that honey might yell at her again like before. instead, she said nothing.
in fact, they didn't speak for the rest of the journey as they reached the end of the tunnel.
crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because lupin, pettigrew, and ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches. sirius walked a bit faster and saw snape up through the hole, then stood back for the remaining three to pass.
at last, all of them were out.
the ground were very dark now and the only light came from the distant windows of the castle making hogwarts look like a lone lighthouse in the ocean of the dark night sky. single stars were blocked by clouds and mist- blanketing the sky from their eyes.
without a word to anybody, they set off once more.
pettirgrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering at times, but the group didn't seem to care. as cruel as it might have been, the once presumed man didn't really chalk up to being a good person or tragic sacrifice in the war as people had once assumed. all sympathy had washed away and was left with varying feelings from distrust to pure hatred (and it didn't take a genius to figure out where sirius black and professor lupin fell on that scale).
"one wrong move, peter," said lupin threateningly ahead. his wand was still pointed sideways at pettigrew's chest. "and... well- the dementors won't get to great you, will they?"
"always taking my cynical approach and stealing my lines," muttered sirius from behind honey. she didn't look back at him- but caught a ghost of a smile on her professors face in front.
hermione and honey looked at each other. there was definitely something there that they'd have to come back to later.
silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of honey- strung along by sirius at the back, his chin bumping on his chest.
it was serene, quite... almost relaxed. honey felt her shoulders sag as she pushed herself further into her hoodie.
the moon, she thought- the voice and her own in unison (they were one now), the moon!
and then- a cloud shifted.
there were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. their party was bathed in silvery moonlight. snape collided with lupin, pettigrew, and ron, who had stopped abruptly.
sirius black froze, he hissed to harry, hermione and honey, "stop."
he walked in front of them as they paused abruptly- honey's mind thinking to the moon in those moments as they were bathed in the liquid light of the moon. the moon. the moon. the FULL MOON-
honey could see lupin's silhouette. he had gone rigid. then his limbs began to shake.
"he didn't take his potion," honey said, "remeber?"
she thought back to the howls in her dream- the snarling and the growling. she'd always thought because she'd seen the dog (the grim- or... sirius black? who cares at this point) that it had been the dog that had made those sounds.
it hadn't.
it had been professor lupin in all along. she should've realised then or even when she found out he was a werewolf. the whispers in her sleep had been warning her to-
"-run." black whispered, "run. now!"
"but we can't-" harry began, "ron is-"
ron was chained to pettigrew and lupin still. honey knew what he meant- they couldn't leave him. werewolves in wolf form lost themselves to the moon- they didn't think as sad as it was. lupin would never hurt ron, they knew that. but the wolf wouldn't hesitate.
"leave it to me," sirius insisted, "RUN!"
there was a terrible snarling noise. lupin's head was lengthening. so was his body. his shoulders were hunching. hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away as the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, sirius disappeared from harry's side.
he had transformed.
the enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. as the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from ron and pettigrew.
they were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.
"HONEY! LOOK!" yelled hermione, pointing over to pettigrew.
"circe's fucking tits- i- HARRY!" yelled honey, patting her pockets for her wand, "hermione fucking kick him in the bits if you need to!"
the alarm in the two girls voices was all due to pettigrew who had dived for lupin's dropped wand. ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell.
there was a loud bang and a burst of light- and ron lay motionless on the ground. another bang and crookshanks flew into the air back to the earth in a heap.
"expelliarmus." harry yelled, pointing his own wand at pettigrew; lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight.
"stay where you are!" honey shouted, running forward with her wand raised.
too late. pettigrew had transformed. he scampered away like a coward- his fickle little cackle drowning into squeaks as he disappeared into the grass.
-rejoin his master.
"son of a bitch," hissed honey, glaring at the grass.
honey saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on ron's outstretched arm and heard a scurrying through the grass. there was a howl and a rumbling growl; she turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest.
"sirius, he's gone, pettigrew transformed!" harry yelled.
but sirius was bleeding badly, gashes across his muzzle and back, but at harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds. the three of them dashed over to ron.
"what did he do to him?" hermione whispered.
ron's eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognize them.
honey squinted at ron and then grimaced, "stun spell? who knows- you heard the two of them. they said he learnt all sort of dark magic stuff."
"pettigrew is a bastard," announced hermione before looking at snape- still hanging unconscious in midair- she looked a bit sick. "we'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone. if-"
there was a yelp followed by a whimper. it was the sound of a dog in pain, it was the sound of-
"sirius." harry simply whispered- dropping all rationale as he suddenly set off into a run. not wanting him to possibly get killed- the two girls followed after him in sprint. it seemed that you could trust harry potter to not only be fast in the air but on land as well.
the yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. their sprints turned into bolts, turning into as much running as they could possibly do with heads hurting, feet burning and legs stinging. the sensation of it shouldn't have bothered honey, it felt like the dance of madness. but it hurt like hell and stung viciously.
it was running for a few seconds, and simply just that. but then the yelping stopped abruptly and the reached the lakeshore and soon saw why.
sirius had turned back into a man, laid on the floor. he had tears sprouting from his eyes, pale skin looking ghostly as he sobbed- from pain or sadness, honey couldn't tell. perhaps it was both. his breath was shuddering, cuts trickling blood to the pebbles- round mounds of dark memories that glinted with spite as dementors drew closer- sirius' pleads and sobs turning into frantic shaking and screaming.
"no!" he yelled. he seemed just a bit addled as her garbled out cries of distress. "no, no, no- PLEASE! remus i'm sorry- ... lilly! lilly! lilly don't- JAMES" JAMES PLEASE-" he let out a broken scream as the dementors turned the lake to ice, "NO!"
all around them, the air few cold and the whispers turned to shouts. they didn't sound like her anymore, they didn't even sound helpful now. they bombarded her, stabbed her with words she didn't understand or acknowledge.
he has returned. he killed-
then, the wave of roars came again and her temples stung- the back of her head feeling like it was being picked apart, cell by cell and layer by layer. she shook as she grappled onto hermione- the cold gushing through like blood. she squeezed hermione's arm- the sounds around her blurred into the background as her heartbeat rang in her ears.
they called him a spare. a spare, honey. just a spare- they didn't care about him, they just killed him. they killed-
sirius' screams and please harmonised with her own shriek as a new of wave of whispers addled her senses and her legs wobbled.
green light flashed past her eyes, screams and sobs intertwined with the mist that curled around the ground like freshly spilled blood. screams and shouts- sobbs and a body.
harry and hermione were opening their mouths. they were saying things- but they were so quite compared to the voices. they looked to be saying a spell- hermione looked to be worried, yelling at her maybe. honey couldn't tell.
the spare.
it was all so loud.
he died for us and it's begun. the ministry has to believe it now-
she squeezed her eyes shut, tears spilled to the ground caused by her senses overwhelmed. she let go of hermione's arm, stumbling as she squeezed her head. maybe, if she pushed hard enough at the sides of her head she wouldn't heard the whispers. maybe-
he's a spare.
she opened her eyes, black spots danced in her vision, a waltz of doom appearing everywhere with every blink.
KILL THE SPARE.
she squeezed them shut again- stumbling and falling.
she didn't open them again, the whispers died with her consciousness as sharp stabs of rock lodged into the sides of her head.
"shocking business... shocking... miracle none of them died... never heard the like... by thunder, it was lucky you were there, snape..."
what the fuck.
"thank you, minister."
"order of merlin, second class, i'd say. first class, if i can wangle it!"
"thank you very much indeed, minister."
shut up. shut up. shut up-
"nasty cut you've got there... black's work, i suppose?"
"as a matter of fact, it was potter, weasley, jordan, and granger, minister..."
sweet merlin and circe above.
"no!"
"black had bewitched them, i saw it immediately. a confundus charm, to judge by their behaviour. they seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. 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 got 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-"
shut up this isn't real. this isn't real-
"ah, well, snape... harry potter, you know... we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."
"and yet - is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? personally, i try and 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-"
shut up this isn't real. circe's tits is this a dream- a nightmare. a nightmare, it's a nightmare and nothing else. nothing more. shut up-
"well, well... we shall see, snape, we shall see... the boy has undoubtedly been foolish..."
honey's head hurt. not from cuts and wounds- from the fact she felt no burning sensation in her body, she guessed it wasn't from that. no- this was her head. like a migraine but worse, maybe a thousand times worse. and a lot more violent than a headache.
her limbs felt like lead- her eyes tightly shut. everything took a few seconds for her to register, and she was terribly confused because she didn't remember much- but she certainly knew that snape's actions didn't allow him to acquire an order of merlin.
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 entrances..."
"extraordinary. and yet black, and harry, and the girls-"
"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."
there was a pause, and the whispers in honey's mind prodded her slow-working brain, all whispering together: hurry up!
she was lying in the hospital wing. her wounds weren't hurting because, most likely, madam pomfrey had healed them for her. with a bit of effort, she managed to open her eyes and look around a bit. it was blurred at the start- but after a few sluggish blinks, everything cleared up.
at the very end of the ward, she could see madam pomfrey tending to what looked like ron (his red hair was recognisable even at the most garbled of times). she moved her head a bit over on the pillow, looking to her other side and meeting the eye's of harry.
somebody had taken his glasses off, but he mostly looked the same. he blinked at her, and as she did she before she turned again to see hermione's eyes wide. moonlight fell across her bed in waves. she turned to this and pressed a finger to her lips before her eyes moved upwards as she pointed to the hospital wing door.
it was ajar, and the voices of cornelius fudge and snape were coming through it from the corridor outside.
madam pomfrey now came walking over briskly. when she noticed honey blinking, she broke into a hopeful smile, "ah, you're all awake then? lovely."
she scurried away as honey sat up in her bed- blood stained on her hoodie and ripped jeans jagged with dirt and string being the only reminder on her body of what had happened. her cuts had been healed and cleaned- there was nothing left.
madam pomfrey walked back, placing a bar of chocolate on each of their bedsides. honey gingerly went for a piece letting the sweet chocolate distract her for just a moment.
"how's ron?" said harry and hermione together as honey munched quietly- settling her mind and the whispers.
"he'll live," said madam pomfrey 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 was sitting up, putting his glasses back on, and picking up his wand, "honey's sat up."
madame pomfrey whipped her head to honey. "you lay back down, now."
harry didn't seem to care about rest, and honey wasn't really going to sit back down.
"i need to see the headmaster," he said.
"potter," said madam pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. they've got black. he's locked away upstairs. it all ok-"
"and that's a good thing?" honey yelped, pushing the blankets away from her as she placed her feet on the floor- wobbling slightly. she heard the sound of shoes and saw harry and hermione do the same.
"of course it's a good thing. the dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now-"
"WHAT?"
his shout had been heard in the corridor outside; next second, cornelius fudge and snape had entered the ward.
"harry, harry, what's this?" said fudge, looking agitated. "you should be in bed - has he had any chocolate?" he asked madam pomfrey anxiously.
"minister, listen!" harry said. "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 was shaking his head with a small 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!" harry yelled. "you've got the wrong man!"
"we saw it happen!" insisted honey, hurrying over to harry with hermione, "ron's rat. he's an animagus- pettigrew. he's pettigrew."
"he killed those muggles," hermione said in a shaking voice, "he was the one who killed them. chopped his finger up and made it look like sirius had killed him. please, minister, you have to-"
"you see, minister?" said snape. "confunded, the three of them... black's done a very good job on them..."
"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" harry roared.
honey made a loud noise of agreement. she'd confounded sirius black temporarily- not the other way around.
"minister! professor!" said madam pomfrey angrily. "i must insist that you leave. potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!"
"i'm not distressed, i'm trying to tell them what happened!" harry said furiously. "if they'd just listen -"
but madam pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into harry"s mouth; he choked, and she seized the opportunity to force him back onto the bed.
"now, please, minister, these children need care. please leave."
the door opened again. it was dumbledore. harry swallowed his mouthful of chocolate with great difficulty and got up again. "professor dumbledore, sirius black -"
"for heaven's sake!" said madam pomfrey hysterically. "is this a hospital wing or not? headmaster, i must insist-"
"my apologies, poppy, but i need a word with mr potter, ms granger and jordan," said dumbledore 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?" spat snape. "something about a rat, and pettigrew being alive-"
"that, indeed, is black's story," said dumbledore, surveying snape closely through his half moon spectacles.
"and does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled snape. "peter pettigrew was not in the shrieking shack, nor did i see any sign of him on the grounds."
"that was because you were knocked out, professor!" hermione rushed out, sounding a bit harsh. "you didn't arrive in time to hear."
"you were conked out by the time we got anywhere!" honey snapped, glaring at him. "you killer, you might as well be the dementor up there-"
"HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"
"now, snape," said fudge, startled, "the young ladies are disturbed in their mind, we must make allowances-"
"call them disturbed again," snarled harry harshly, "say it again, minister. say it again!"
"now, harry i understand you are-"
"i would like to speak to honey, harry and hermione alone," said dumbledore abruptly. "cornelius, severus, poppy- please leave us."
"headmaster!" sputtered madam pomfrey. "they need treatment, they need rest-"
"this cannot wait," said dumbledore. "i must insist."
madam pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her.
fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat. "the dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "i'll go and meet them. dumbledore, i'll see you upstairs."
he crossed to the door and held it open for snape, but snape hadn't moved.
"you surely don't believe a word of black's story?" snape whispered, his eyes fixed on dumbledore's face.
"i wish to speak to them alone," dumbledore repeated.
snape took a step toward dumbledore.
"sirius black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he breathed. "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," said dumbledore quietly.
snape turned on his heel and marched through the door fudge was still holding.
the door closed, and rushed explanations followed.
"professor, black's telling the truth- we saw pettigrew. he escaped when professor lupin turned into a werewolf."
"he's a rat-"
"pettigrew's front paw, i mean, finger, he cut it off-"
"pettigrew attacked ron, it wasn't sirius-"
but dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations.
"it is your turn to listen, and i beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time. the minister has wasted enough of it." he said quietly. "there is not a shred of proof to support black's story, except your word- and the word of three teenage wizards who are not of age will not convince anybody. a street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw sirius murder pettigrew. i myself gave evidence to the ministry that sirius had been the potters' secret-keeper."
"professor lupin can tell you-" harry said, unable to stop himself.
"professor lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. by the time he is human again, it will be too late, sirius will be worse than dead. i might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little and the fact that he and sirius are old friends-"
honey frowned. was this helping or hindering them. she opened her mouth to speak, but dumbledore continued.
"listen to me, please. it is too late, you understand me? you must see that professor snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours."
"he hates sirius," hermione said desperately. "all because of some stupid trick sirius played on him-"
"sirius has not acted like an innocent man. the attack on the fat lady - entering gryffindor tower with a knife - without pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning sirius's sentence."
honey frowned. "but you believe us."
"yes, i do," said dumbledore quietly. "but i have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the minister of magic... i am one man. they have a government and the wizengamot has a council."
so it's hopeless? honey frowned as the thought verberated around her brain.
sirius will just go to jail- the dementors kiss.
honey, however much she found dumbledore to be mostly annoyingly mystical, had expected the old crack-pot to pull out a plan from his arse and send them on their merry way. it seemed like he was full of weird meta-extraterrestrial-cosmic-plan bullshit.
"what we need," said dumbledore slowly, and his light blue eyes moved from harry and honey to hermione, "is more time."
"but -" hermione began. and then her eyes became very round. "OH!"
"now, pay attention," said dumbledore, speaking very low, and very clearly. "sirius is locked in professor flitwick's office on the seventh floor. thirteenth window from the right of the west tower. if all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. but remember this, both of you: you must not be seen. miss granger, you know the law - you know what is at stake... you - must - not - be -seen."
both honey and harry equally had no clue what was going on.
dumbledore had turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door. "i am going to lock you in. it is -" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. miss granger, three turns should do it. good luck."
"good luck?" repeated honey. he turned to harry, "has he finally lost the fucking plot?"
"what does he mean three turns? what are we suppose to-"
"oh harry, honey... do shut up and come here," hermione said urgently, "and make yourself quick, please!"
honey and harry moved toward her, completely bewildered. she was holding the chain out. she saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.
"here -" she had thrown the chain around harry's neck as well as her own.
"ready?" she said breathlessly.
"what are we doing?" harry said, completely lost.
"hermione if you're going to kill us-"
the dark ward dissolved.
good news: hermione hadn't killed them.
bad news: she had no idea what was happening.
air rushed around her, spiralling in a circle like she was in the middle of a tornado. it felt like she was flying fast backwards- but it was almost so fast the she felt like she was going slowly. blurs of colours and shapes rushed past her and her ears popped loudly. she opened her mouth to swear or to do anything- but no voice sounded.
and then, just as quickly as it had happened- it all stopped.
she was standing next ot harry and hermione in the deserted entrance hall with a stream of golden sunlight falling across the paved floor from the open front doors.
"what the fuck- OUCH!" yelped honey as harry moved, the chain tugging both hermione and honey along with him.
before he could properly go anywhere, hermione seized him by the arm, unclasping the chain and stuffing it in her pocket before dragging the three of them into a broom closet.
"erm- hermione-"
"we've gone back in time," hermione said as honey felt herself squashed between hermione and harry.
"you smell like air," harry noted to honey, "and- honey?"
"it's for the irony," she replied before hermione's words finally settled in her mind. "... you what now-"
"three hours back," hermione whispered, "now shut up- somebody is coming!" she paused before she pressed her ear against the closet door, "i think it's us."
there was a loud stomp.
"that's definitely me," honey muttered. "three hours ago... were we going to hagrids then?"
"are you telling me," harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"
"keep up, lovely," honey muttered, "time travel. clones. i need a nap."
hermione, her ear still glued to the cupboard door, said"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 broke off, still listening intently. "we've gone down the front steps..." hermione sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious.
harry, looking like he was still searching for a definitive answer, asked"where did you get that hourglass thing?"
"it's called a time-turner," hermione whispered, "and i got it from professor mcgonagall on our first day back. i've been using it all year to get to all my lessons. professor mcgonagall made me swear i wouldn't tell anyone. she had to write all sorts of letters to the ministry of magic so i could have one. she had to tell them that i was a model student, and that i'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies... i've been turning it back so i could do hours over again, that's how i've been doing several lessons at once, see? but-"
she pulled a face, "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 sirius?"
harry stared at her shadowy face. "there must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," he said slowly. "what happened? we were walking down to hagrid's three hours ago..."
monster turned friend.
was that both of them? sirius and buckbeak?
she'd heard malfoy call buckbeak that before. maybe-
"this is three hours ago, and we are walking down to hagrid's," said hermione. "we just heard ourselves leaving... dumbledore just said - just said we could save more than one innocent life..."
"he wants us to save buckbeak," honey blurted out, "he wants us to free sirius using buckbeak."
"she's right," harry said, "dumbledore said - he just told us where the window is - the window of flitwick's office! where they've got sirius locked up! we've got to fly buckbeak up to the window and rescue sirius! sirius can escape on buckbeak - they can escape together!"
from what honey could see of hermione's face, she looked terrified. "if we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"
"well, we've got to try, haven't we?" said harry. he stood up and pressed his ear against the door. "doesn't sound like anyone's there... come on, let's go."
harry pushed open the closet door. the entrance hall was deserted. as quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet and down the stone steps.
the shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the forbidden forest gilded once more with gold.
"if anyone's looking out of the window," hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them.
"we'll run for it," said harry 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 around by the greenhouses!' said hermione 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!"
"see us?" hissed honey as hermione broke into a sprint, harry and honey running behind her.
they tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, paused for a moment behind them, then set off again, fast as they could, skirting around the whomping willow, tearing toward the shelter of the forest. safe in the shadows of the trees, the three of them stared at each other.
"now what?" she asked hermione.
"right," she gasped. "we need to sneak over to hagrid's... keep out of sight."
they made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. then, as they glimpsed the front of hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. they moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. honey heard her own voice, and by the looks of it- harry had too.
"it's us. we're wearing the invisibility cloak. let us in and we can take it off."
"yeh shouldn've come!" hagrid whispered. he stood back, then shut the door quickly.
"this is the weirdest thing we've ever done," harry said fervently.
"i hate my life," honey said, gritting her teeth as she clenched her fists, "stupid inner eye."
"let's move along a bit," hermione whispered. "we need to get nearer to buckbeak!"
they crept through the trees until they saw the nervous hippogriff, tethered to the fence around hagrid's pumpkin patch.
"now?" harry whispered.
"we have to wait," honey replied, "remember the committee? they're coming over. if we free buckbeak now, people will think hagrid set him free. we've got to wait until they've seen him."
"that's going to give us about sixty seconds," said harry.
this was starting to seem impossible.
at that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside hagrid's cabin.
"that's hagrid breaking the milk jug," hermione whispered. "i'm going to find scabbers in a moment -" sure enough, a few minutes later, they heard hermione's shriek of surprise.
"hermione," said harry suddenly, "what if we - we just run in there and grab pettigrew-"
"strangle him a bit-" added honey.
"no!" said hermione in a terrified whisper. "don't you understand? we're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! you heard dumbledore, if we're seen-"
"we'd only be seen by ourselves and hagrid!" harry protested.
"harry, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself bursting into hagrid's house?" said hermione.
"i'd - i'd think i'd gone mad," said harry, "or i'd think there was some dark magic going on-"
"exactly! you wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself! don't you see? professor mcgonagall told me what awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time... loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake!"
"okay!" said harry. "it was just an idea, i just thought-"
but hermione nudged him, and by extension knocked honey a bit before she pointed toward the castle.
honey moved his head a few inches to get a clear view of the distant front doors. dumbledore, fudge, the old committee member, and macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.
"we're about to come out!" hermione breathed.
and sure enough, moments later, hagrid's back door opened, and honey saw herself, harry, ron, and hermione walking out of it with hagrid. it was, without a doubt, the strangest sensation of her life, standing behind the tree, and watching herself in the pumpkin patch.
"it's okay, beaky, it's okay..." hagrid said to buckbeak. then he turned to the four of them. "go on. get goin'."
"hagrid, we can't-"
"we'll tell them what really happened-"
"they can't kill him-"
"go! it's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"
honey watched the hermione in the pumpkin patch throw the invisibility cloak over them all.
"go quick. don' listen..."
there was a knock on hagrid's front door. the execution party had arrived.
hagrid turned, around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. honey watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard fours pairs of feet retreating. they had gone... but the harry, honey and hermione hidden in the trees could now hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.
"where is the beast?" came the cold voice of macnair.
"out - outside," hagrid croaked.
honey nearly let out a curse, but instead yanked harry harry out of sight as macnair's face appeared at hagrid's window, staring out at buckbeak. then they heard fudge.
"we - er - have to read you the official notice of execution, hagrid. i'll make it quick. and then you and macnair need to sign it. macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure-"
macnair's face vanished from the window. it was now or never.
"wait here," harry whispered to them. "i'll do it."
"oh hagrid," honey had said quietly, "we'll help you as much as we can. if push comes to shove- tell them i set free buckbeak when the time comes." the words had sounded so right as she'd added, "it'll be the truth, they can't argue with that."
she grabbed harry by the back of his collar, shoving him down as she darted through the trees instead, vaulting over the fence into the pumpkin patch.
he couldn't call or shout for her, because if he did, they'd be screwed.
"it is the decision of the committee for the disposal of dangerous creatures that the hippogriff buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall he executed on the sixth of june at sundown-"
careful not to blink, honey stared into the eyes of buckbeak's fierce orange once more and bowed. buckbeak sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again. and with that, honey hastily moved forward- battling with the knot of rope tying buckbeak to the fence.
"-sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the committee's appointed executioner, walden macnair."
she finally undid it, and tugged on the rop gently. buckbeak's sad eyes stared back at her, and she petted the side of his face softly, "i know- i know. it's alright buckbeak, i'm going to help you. quickly not- and quietly too. best not to disturb them or this might get difficult."
"-as witnessed below. hagrid, you sign here..."
slowly, buckbeak's legs began to move. she grinned with delight despite the pressure of the moment.
"hagrid, perhaps it will be better if you stay inside -"
"no, i - i wan' ter be with him... i don' wan' him ter be alone -"
footsteps echoed from within the cabin.
"come on, buckbeak!" she whispered to the hippogriff, "just a bit more- keep moving please. we need to free you, you're part of this stupid inner eye thing that makes sure you don't die. you don't want to die- do you?" she began to mutter random things that slid from her mind to him, "so move please- one leg, another. or two? who cares? please move faster!"
"one moment, please, macnair," came dumbledore's voice. "you need to sign too." the footsteps stopped.
"please, please, please, please," she whispered to buckbeak, "i'll... i'll get you dead rats or something, a dead ferret? the world is your oyster, buckbeak. please just move. please. please. please. please."
"honey what the fuck do you think you're doing?" harry mouthed, covered in mud and looking slightly annoyed.
"hurry, please!" mouthed hermione.
"please, please," begged honey, "you're the best hippogriff- best, most lovely, most beautiful hippogriff ever. lovely feathers and er... beak. please-"
honey could still hear dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin.
she tugged a bit more on the rope, moving a bit faster and simply praying buckbeak moved faster with her. after a few more tugs and a lot more sweet-talking, buckbeak picked up the pace a bit more and honey lugged him under the cover of the forests and the shrubs around them. hermione moved about- probably happy honey wasn't seen.
then, hagrid's door opened with a big bang!
all at once, honey, hermione, harry and even buckbeak stood still.
silence... then-
"where is it?" said the reedy voice of the committee member. "where is the beast?"
"it was tied here!" said the executioner furiously. "i saw it! just here!"
"how extraordinary," said dumbledore. there was a note of amusement in his voice.
crack-pot weirdo, she thought to herself.
"beaky!" said hagrid huskily.
there was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. the executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger. crows flew away- a pumpkin split in two as the executioner walked off, swearing and cursing loudly.
and then came the howling, and this time they could hear hagrid's words through his sobs.
"gone! gone! bless his little beak, he's gone! musta pulled himself free! beaky, yeh clever boy!" buckbeak started to strain against the rope, trying to get back to hagrid. honey desperately tried to settle the hippogriff whilst harry and hermione gripped the rope all of a sudden, digging their heels into the forest floor to stop him from moving.
"someone untied him!" the executioner was snarling. "we should search the grounds, the forest."
"macnair, if buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" said dumbledore, still sounding amused. "search the skies, if you will... hagrid, i could do with a cup of tea. or a large brandy."
"o' - o' course, professor," said hagrid, who sounded weak with happiness. "come in, come in..."
the three of them all listened closely. they heard footsteps, the soft cursing of the executioner, the snap of the door, and then silence once more.
"now what?" whispered harry, looking around.
"we'll have to hide in here," said hermione, who looked very 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 sirius's window. he won't be there for another couple of hours... oh, this is going to be difficult..."
she looked nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. the sun was setting now.
"we're going to have to move," said harry, thinking hard. "we've got to be able to see the whomping willow, or we won't know what's going on."
"best get moving, then," honey said as buckbeak nudged her forward, almost like he knew what was going on.
"okay," said hermione, getting a firmer grip on buckbeak's rope. "but we've got to keep out of sight, remember."
they moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them, until they were hidden behind a clump of trees through which they could make out the willow.
"there's ron!" said harry suddenly. a dark figure was sprinting across the lawn and its shout echoed through the still night air.
"get away from him - get away - scabbers, come here -"
and then they saw three more figures materialise out of nowhere. honey watched as they chased after ron- yelling and hissing for him to stop. then, she saw ron go into a dive.
gotcha! get off, you stinking cat -"
"there's sirius!" said harry.
the great shape of the dog had bounded out from the roots of the willow. they saw him bowl harry over, then seize on...
"looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" said harry, watching the dog pulling ron into the roots.
honey winced, "i just got beat up by a tree. circe's tits, this is a bit mental, isn't it? i hate this."
"don't worry," harry said, "i just got beat up by the tree too."
"FOR FUCK SAKE HERMIONE, WILL YOU RUN?" yelled the past honey, sprinting out of the way of a branch, pushing the past hermione to the ground and out of the way.
"jesus christ, your voice really carries, doesn't it?" muttered harry.
"it's a gift," she said back smartly.
"it's keeping us from being unnoticed, oddly." hermione said finally, her eyes never leaving the scene in front of them.
the whomping willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; they could see themselves darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk.
and then the tree froze.
"that was crookshanks pressing the knot," said hermione.
"and there we go..." harry muttered. "we're in."
the moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again. seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by. dumbledore, macnair, fudge, and the old committee member were making their way up to the castle.
"right after we'd gone down into the passage!" said hermione. "if only dumbledore had come with us..."
"macnair and fudge would've come too," said harry bitterly. "i bet you anything fudge would've told macnair to murder sirius on the spot. he brutally mutilated a couple of pumpkins, what's to say he wouldn't smash sirius to bits?"
they watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. for a few minutes the scene was deserted. then -
"here comes lupin!" said honey as they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and halting toward the willow.
honey looked up at the sky. clouds were obscuring the moon completely.
they watched lupin seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. the tree stopped fighting, and lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots.
"if he'd only grabbed the cloak," said harry. "it's just lying there..." he turned to the two of them. "if i just dashed out now and grabbed it, snape'd never be able to get it and -"
"you're not going anywhere," interrupted hermione sharply, "we can't be seen."
"how can you stand this?" he asked fiercely. "just standing here and watching it happen?" he hesitated. "i'm going to grab the cloak!"
"harry, no!" honey (once again) seized the back of harry's robes not a moment too soon.
just then, they heard a burst of song. it was hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving slightly as he walked. a large bottle was swinging from his hands.
"see?" hermione whispered. "see what would have happened? we've got to keep out of sight! no, buckbeak!"
the hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to hagrid again; honey once more seized the rope, straining along with harry and hermione to hold buckbeak back. they watched hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. he was gone.
buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. his head drooped sadly. barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and snape came charging out of them, running toward the willow.
"don't even think about it," honey spat it, grabbing both of harry's shoulders, "you're not even that tall- i could stomp on your beautiful face if i wanted."
"you won't, you're too glamorous," hissed back harry.
honey let the comment absorb into her before she slapped harry on the back, "well done. restraint looks good on you, idiot boy."
they watched rather bitterly (practically seething in harry's case) as snape seized the branch lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.
"so that's it," said hermione quietly. "we're all down there... and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again."
after hermione took the end of buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree, she sat down- looking completely perplexed. she hugged her knees, placing her head on top as she announced, "i'm stumped."
"how so?" harry asked.
"why didn't the dementors get sirius?" hermione asked, and honey found herself nodding along too. she hadn't state dconcious long enough to find out what had happened, and was glad she wasn't the only one a bit confused.
"we all passed out, right?" honey added, making herself comfy on the ground, "so what happened?"
harry sat down too. he explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest dementor had lowered its mouth to harry's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the dementors to retreat. hermione's mouth was slightly open by the time harry had finished whilst honey sat... more confused than she had been at the start of their conversation.
"but what was it?"
"there's only one thing it could have been, to make the dementors go," said harry. "a real patronus. a powerful one."
"but who conjured it?"
"didn't you see what they looked like?" said hermione eagerly. "was it one of the teachers?"
"no," said harry. "he wasn't a teacher. there was somebody next to him too. but they weren't teachers, no."
"but it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those dementors away... if the patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? couldn't you see -?"
"yeah, i saw him- the person who cast the patronus charm." said harry slowly. "but... maybe i imagined it... i wasn't thinking straight... i passed out right afterward."
"who did you think it was?" honey asked sceptically.
"i think -" harry swallowed."i think it was my dad."
"erm- harry." honey said, a bit awkwardly. "you're... you're dead's dead? um- like, dead-dead."
"yes i know that," harry replied quickly.
"so you think you saw his ghost or something?" honey prodded.
"i don't know... no... he looked solid..."
"but then -"
"maybe i was seeing things," said harry. "but... from what i could see... it looked like him... i've got photos of him."
hermione was still looking at him as though worried about his sanity (honey couldn't help but agree. she knew a thing or two about insanity).
"i know it sounds crazy." said harry flatly. he turned to took at buckbeak, who was digging his beak into the ground, apparently searching for worms.
"but who was the person next to you?" honey frowned, "you said there were to people. who do you think the other person was?"
"i don't know," shrugged harry, "i don't..."
he trailed off, not finishing his thought trail.
honey took the chance to turn to hermione, who looked a bit depressed as she looked at honey- like a sad and kicked little puppy. she looked away, because she possibly couldn't say the words to hermione's face for she might die of shame.
"you were right," is all she got out before she was interrupted.
"here we come!" hermione whispered.
the three of them scrambled to their feet, and buckbeak raised his head.
they saw the group of lupin, pettigrew and ron clambering out awkwardly. then the levitating snape, then honey and finally the remaining three: hermione, harry and sirius. they all began to walk toward the castle- and all honey could do was stare back at them and then back at the moon (or where it should have been), waiting for the clouds to part.
any moment now, the clouds would part and the moon would shine down on them.
"harry," hermione said, seeming to snap harry out of his daze, "harry we mustn't be seen. there's nothing we can do."
"so we're just going to let pettigrew escape all over again..." said harry quietly.
"how do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped hermione. "there's nothing we can do! we came back to help sirius; we're not supposed to be doing anything else!"
"besides, we're too young to become killers- yes harry that includes when you tried to kill sirius."
"all right!"
the moon slid out from behind its cloud. they saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. then they saw movement-
"there goes lupin," hermione whispered. "he's transforming."
"hermione!" said harry suddenly. "we've got to move!"
"we mustn't, i keep telling you-"
honey's eyes widened, understanding what harry meant. "no- hermione. he's right. if we don't lupin's going to maul us to death. he's running into the forest right at us!"
"mother mary-" hermione began before she let out a quick curse, "shit! right- nevermind guys. quick! quick!"
she dashed around to buckbeak, untying the hippogriff quickly before she said, "where are we going to go? where are we going to hide? the dementors will be coming any moment-"
"back to hagrid's!" harry said. "it's empty now - come on!"
they ran as fast as they could, buckbeak cantering along behind them. they could hear the werewolf howling behind them, which only made them run faster. professor lupin might be an excellent teacher- but she knew that a werewolf in their wolf form wouldn't hesitate unless they had their minds cleared by the wolfsbane potion- which lupin hadn't taken.
thankfully, the cabin was in sight; harry skidded to the door first and wrenched it open- hermione, honey and buckbeak rushing past him. after they were all in, harry slammed himself in after them and bolted the door.
fang the boarhound barked loudly, but honey rushed over to him.
"shhh, fang! it's us! it's alright- we won't hurt you," she said quickly, cooing as she scratched behind the dogs ears to calm him down.
"that was really close!" hermione said, panting as she held her side.
"yeah..." harry mumbled, looking out of the window.
it was much harder to see what was going on from here. but the good news was that buckbeak seemed very happy to find himself back inside hagrid's house. he lay down in front of the fire, folded his wings contentedly, and seemed ready for a good nap.
"i think i'd better go outside again, you know," said harry slowly. "i can't see what's going on - we won't know when it's time-"
hermione looked up. her expression was suspicious.
"i'm not going to try and interfere," said harry 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... but harry, be careful - there's a werewolf out there- and the dementors."
honey eyed harry a bit suspiciously, "i'll go with him. you're right, it's not safe out there."
hermione looked hopeful as she glanced at honey- who was out the door before hermione could say anything, following harry with her wand placed in her hoodie's pocket.
it wasn't hard to get to harry. a few strides away from the hut, and he was there- looking out against the lake that was far away.
"do you really think it's your dad?" she asked and harry jumped. "i mean- like, your dad who you saw cast the patronus?"
"i-" began harry, shoulders sagging, "i want to believe it. i do."
there was more to say, but they stayed quiet as they watched across the lake. hermione had warned him not to be seen- but he wasn't necessarily in direct view of anybody right now, so honey didn't think they'd be caught.
a cold feeling washed over honey and she shivered.
"dementors," harry whispered, pointing up above them. they were emerging out of the darkness from every direction gliding around the edges of the lake. "hundreds of them, just like before."
"so where's your dad?" honey asked, "you said he'd be-"
harry let out a little gasp, and before she could say anything else- he'd gripped her wrist and was running towards the lake.
"harry-" she hissed, "harry- harry what the hell are you doing? you heard what hermione said you can't-"
he pulled her forwards, and honey did her best not to trip over any roots or rocks that were in her way. it would have been easier had harry not been gripping her hand tightly. the lake was coming nearer and nearer, but there was no sight of anybody. she squinted and saw on the opposite side of the bank that sirius was on the floor- pleading loudly.
the dementors came closer, and her own screams and tears spilled into the air, dispelling around them like an omen of doom as she crumpled to the floor.
small slivers of silver were shown- but no person casting a patronus charm, no fully formed patronus.
harry suddenly tugged her into a bush at the very edge of the water- and honey hit the brambles with a hiss before moving away sharply.
"harry what in merlin's name are you-"
on the opposite bank, the glimmers of silver were suddenly extinguished.
"come on!" he muttered, staring about. "where are you? dad, come on-"
"harry nobody is coming," honey bit out. "come on- idiot. ghosts can't cast spells." she raised her head along with harry to see a circle of dementors across the lake.
one of them was lowering its hood.
and then suddenly harry was standing up, honey standing up to0 so as to try drag him down before he yelled, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
out of his wand leapt a cloud of mist that ravelled quickly into a dazzling, silver animal. it jumped, trotting around stately before it sped across the dark surface of the lake, skimming it with hope and warmth despite the cool tones of the spell.
it charged straight towards the dementors, scattering them as it reared it's head. the dementors fell back and scattered, retreating into the darkness- and then they were gone. the patronus turned, it cantered towards them across the still surface of the water.
it wasn't a horse, certainly not. it had the agility of a unicorn but it certainly wasn't one.
against the moon, the ethereal creature circled the lake playfully- moving from a canter to a fashionable trot, looking almost like a dance. ever stamp of it's hooves cast a silver streak to skid across the water- and by the time it had circled back to harry, the water rippled with life once more- the dementors nowhere in sight.
it was a stag.
messrs moony, wormtail, padfoot and-
"prongs," the two of them whispered together.
harry's trembling fingertips stretched out towards the creature- but it vanished.
the two of them stood there, stunned and shocked.
hooves sounded behind her, and honey jumped in surprise; whirling around to see hermione dashing towards them, dragging buckbeak behind her.
"i can't leave you alone for a second, can i?" hermione said fiercely, "you were only meant to go and keep lookout! honey what did he-"
"he saved us," she replied before correcting herself, "our past self, anyways. look- it's- just get behind the bush. idiot boy could explain better than me."
hermione listened to what had just happened with her mouth open yet again.
"did anyone see you?" "yes, haven't you been listening? i saw me but i thought i was my dad! it's okay!"
"harry, i can't believe it... you conjured up a patronus that drove away all those dementors! that's very, very advanced magic."
"i knew i could do it this time," said harry, "because i'd already done it... does that make sense?"
"no, not really." honey said, trying for an airy sort of tone before she snapped her head to look across the lake- almost giving herself whiplash. "look! it's snape!"
together they peered around the bush at the other bank. snape had regained consciousness. he was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of honey, harry, hermione, and black onto them. a fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing ron, was already floating at his side. then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.
"right, it's nearly time," said hermione tensely, looking at her 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."
"we should never become international super-spies," honey decided for them, "we are terrible at this."
"speak for yourself," harry muttered, "i saved our necks."
"do you want a gold star or something?"
"maybe a pat on the back and a hug?"
"how touch-starved are you, pretty potter?"
"shush!"
they waited for what felt like forever. they waited, simply watching the clouds moves reflected in the lake, whilst the bush next to them whispered in the breeze. next to them, buckbeak was once more bored out of his hippogriff mind, and was new pulling a scavenger hunt for worms again.
"do you reckon he's up there yet?" said harry, checking his watch. he looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the west tower.
"look!" hermione whispered. "who's that? someone's coming back out of the castle!"
harry stared through the darkness.
the man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. something shiny glinted in his belt.
"macnair!" hissed honey. "the executioner! he's gone to get the dementors!" she scrambled to buckbeak, patting him. "hello buckbeak- remember when i saved you from dying? and how i flew on you before and you absolutely adore me?" she cooed at him before adding in a pleading tone, "let us fly on you?"
buckbeak nodded and honey grinned. she guided the hippogriff to a tree with a low branch that looked sturdy enough for her to climb on and sit on top of buckbeak. harry and hermione followed behind her- harry sat behind her whilst hermione sat at the back.
"can buckbeak fit three people?" hermione asked.
buckbeak stamped his hoof, like that was almost insulting.
"of course he can," honey said proudly, "hagrid's got a knack for taking care of bloody amazing magical creatures." she patted buckbeak's feathery main before she gave a swift kick- telling him he needed to get ready for flying before she turned to face harry and hermione- an excited grin on her face. "ready? you better hold on- by the way. don't want anybody falling off, really."
she gave him another kick, and buckbeak went from a trot into a canter- then straight into a gallop. as he gained speed, he began to beat his wings, and by the time they fully transitioned into a gallop- they were soaring straight into the dark air.
harry gripped her waist whilst she held onto buckbeak. she could hear hermione behind her muttering, "oh, no- i don't like this. oh- i really don't like this!"
honey urged buckbeak forward.
they were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle when harry said into her ear, "we're nearly there, i think!"
she nudged buckbeak, pulling on the rop to direct the hippogriff a bit- letting the hippogriff slow in the air so they could count the windows flashing past.
"he's there!" harry said, spotting sirius as they rose up beside the window. honey pulled on the rop gently and buckbeak came to a stop.
honey reached out to the window, hissing to harry, "you better not make me fall or i swear!"
he held on tight, and she tapped on the glass sharply.
sirius looked up and eyes stared upwards. honey guessed harry was probably grinning at him. sirius then let his eyes drop to honey who grinned.
his jaw dropped.
he leapt from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.
"stand back!" hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of harry's robes with her left hand. "alohomora!"
the window sprang open.
"how - how -?" said sirius weakly, staring at the hippogriff.
"get on - there's not much time," said harry. "you've got to get out of here - the dementors are coming - macnair's gone to get them."
"i'll reverse," honey said- "sit behind hermione, will you? i think she might sob if she has to sit at the back any longer."
she reversed buckbeak (which just meant flying in a circle). moments later, buckbeak dropped a bit- telling honey that sirius was sat on buckbeak too. she looked at the window and slammed it shut before yelling, "buckbeak- up! up to the tower, please!"
the hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the west tower. buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and honey, harry and hermione slid off him at once.
"sirius, you'd better go, quick," harry panted. "they'll reach flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."
buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.
"what happened to the other boy? ron?" croaked sirius. "he's going to be okay. he's still out of it, but madam pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. quick - go -"
but sirius was still staring down at harry.
"how can i ever thank -"
"GO!" harry and hermione shouted together.
"and take care of buckbeak," honey added, a bit quieter than her usual voice as she stared at buckbeak mournfully, "he deserves the best."
the hippogriff trotted towards her, and she hugged the neck of buckbeak before patting it's neck again, "you're really special, buckbeak. thanks for letting us fly on you." she gave the hippogriff a sad smile, "you're the first and most coolest magical creature i saw this year. thank you."
buckbeak nipped at her hoodie gently- careful not to tear it- almost in an affectionate way.
then, he rose his head as sirius bid his goodbyes to them. squeezed buckbeak's sides with his heels. the enormous wings rose once more and the hippogriff took off into the air.
he and his rider became smaller and smaller as honey gazed after them.
and before she knew it- they were gone.
they'd escaped.
"goodbye buckbeak," she whispered, waving into the clear night.
honey did nothing but smile as tears mixed with happiness and sadness slipped down her eyes.
rosie speaks!
um... hi ?? so this is like nearly
11K word which is working on its own
um slay ? a lot happened but it was either
do one 2K chapter and then like a 6K
chapter afterwards and i hate chapters
less than 3K so i was like omg let me combine.
and then we got this monstrosity and yeah
sort of worth it. my fav line is KILL THE SPARE
lol.
anyways we are so close to act two it's unreal!!!
please stay safe and wear a mask ilysm !
word count: 10,865 words