'We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anyone seeing us,' Hermione said urgently, checking her watch.
Gwen went to follow her, but Harry stayed put, his gaze fixed on the now empty sky.
'Harry, come on,' Gwen urged, and, with a great effort, Harry turned and joined them.
The three of them slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tight spiralling staircase. As they reached the bottom of it, they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and listened.
It was Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.
'... only hope Dumbledore's not going to make any difficulties,' Snape was saying. 'The Kiss will be performed immediately?'
'As soon as Macnair returns with the Dementors. The whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last... I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape... and once Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him...'
Beside Gwen, Harry's fists clenched. Gwen placed her hand over his. Snape and Fudge passed their hiding place, their footsteps dying away. Gwen, Harry and Hermione waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then sprinted in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, along a new corridor--
Then they heard a cackling ahead.
'Peeves!' Gwen groaned. Harry grabbed both her and Hermione's wrists.
'In here,' he whispered.
They fell into a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in tearing spirits, laughing his head off.
'Oh, he's horrible,' Hermione breathed, her ear to the door. 'I bet he's all excited because the Dementors are going to finish Sirius...' She checked her watch. 'Three minutes!'
They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again.
'Hermione-- what'll happen-- if we don't get back-- in time?' Gwen panted.
'I don't want to think about it!' Hermione huffed, checking her watch again. 'One minute!'
They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance.
'OK, I can hear Dumbledore,' said Hermione tensely. 'Come on!'
They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared.
'I am going to lock you in,' he was saying. 'It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck.'
Dumbeldore backed out of the room, closed the door and took out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking, Gwen, Harry and Hermione ran forwards. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under his long silver moustache.
'Well?'
'We did it!' said Harry breathlessly. 'Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak...'
Dumbledore beamed at them. 'Well done, I think...' he paused, listening into the hospital wing. 'Yes, I think you've gone too. Get inside-- I'll lock you in--'
Gwen, Harry andHermione slipped back inside the ward. It was empty except for Ron, who was lying motionless in the end bed. As the door clicked behind them, Gwen, Harry and Hermione crept back into their own beds, Hermione tucking the Time Turner back under her jumper.
Next moment, Madame Pomfrey had come striding back out of her office.
'Did I hear the Headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?
She was in a very bad mood. Gwen, Harry and Hermione accepted their chocolate quietly. Madame Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they were eating it all. But Gwen could hardly swallow. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for; an explosion, an earthquake, the castle walls beginning to shake. She kept exchanging nervous glances with Harry and Hermione...
Then, on their fourth piece of chocolate, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them...
'What was that?' said Madame Pomfrey, alarmed.
Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madame Pomfrey was staring at the door.
The voices drew nearer--
'He must have Disapparated, Severus, we should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out--'
'HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!' Snape roared, his voice now frighteningly close. 'YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS HAS SOMETHING TO WITH POTTER!'
'Severus, be reasonable! Harry has been locked up--!'
BAM!
The door of the hospital wing burst open. Gwen dropped her chocolate. Her hair turned orange at the roots.
Fudge, Snape and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Gwen's hair turned more orange as she realised, startled, that he looked as though he were enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry, but Snape... Snape was beside himself.
'OUT WITH IT POTTER!' he bellowed. 'WHAT DID YOU DO?!'
'Professor Snape!' shrieked Madame Pomfrey. 'Control yourself!'
'See here, Snape, be reasonable!' said Fudge. 'This door's been locked, we just saw--'
'THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!' Snape roared, pointing accusingly at Gwen, Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted, spit flying from his mouth.
'Calm down, man!' Fudge barked. 'You're talking nonsense!'
'YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!' Snape shrieked. 'HE DID IT! I KNOW HE DID IT--!'
'That will do, Severus,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'Think about what you're saying. This door has been locked since I left. Madame Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?'
'Of course not!' said Madame Pomfrey, looking positively scandalised by Snape's behaviour. 'I've been with them ever since you left!'
'Well, there you have it, Severus,' said Dumbledore. 'Unless you are suggesting that Gwen, Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further.'
Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who was looking thoroughly shocked at his outburst, to Dumbledore, whose light blue eyes were twinkling behind his glasses, the ghost of a smile beneath his beard. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.
'Fellow seems quite unbalanced,' said Fudge, staring after him. 'I'd watch out for him, if I were you, Dumbledore.'
'Oh, he's not unbalanced,' said Dumbledore quietly. 'He's just suffered a severe disappointment.'
'He's not the only one!' Fudge huffed. 'The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that Hippogriff escape to get out and I'll be a laughing stock!' He sighed miserably. 'Well... I'd better go and notify the Ministry...'
'And the Dementors?' said Dumbledore. 'They'll be removed from the school, I trust?'
'Oh, yes, they'll have to go.' said Fudge, consulting his pocket watch and running his fingers through his hair distractedly. 'Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on two innocent children... completely out of control... No, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight. Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance...'
'Hagrid would like that,' said Dumbledore, with a swift smile at Gwen, harry and Hermione. As he and Fudge left the ward, Madame Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.
Gwen shared a look with Harry and Hermione, her hair filtering back to blonde. Then there was a low moan from the other end of the hospital wing. Ron had woken up. He was sitting up, rubbing his head, looking around.
'What-- what happened?' he groaned. 'Harry? Gwen, Hermione? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?'
Gwen, Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Then, Gwen and Harry grinned.
'You explain,' Harry said, pointedly to Hermione.
She shrugged and delved into the story.