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Aurora Areli
"SHOCKING BUSINESS . . . SHOCKING . . . MIRACLE none of them died . . . never heard of the like . . . by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape . . ."
"Thank you, Minister."
"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wrangle it!"
"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."
"Nasty cut you've got there . . . Black's work, I suppose?"
"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, the Areli daughter, Weasley and Granger, Minister . . ."
"No!"
"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. 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 —"
"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 to 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's been visiting Hogsmeade illegally, too —"
"Well, well . . . we shall see, Snape, we shall see . . . the boy has undoubtedly been foolish . . ."
I gritted my teeth as I stared up at the ceiling in my bed, listening to Snape make up exaggerated stories to the Minister of Magic. I had been awake for a while now, having woken up minutes before Hermione, who was in the bed to my right. Ron was at the very end of the ward, still unconscious, and Harry was finally stirring to my left.
"What amazes me most is the behavior 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 by 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.
I frowned, and lifted my head from my pillow, glancing around. I saw the hospital wing door that was still slightly ajar, Ron asleep a ways away, Hermione's petrified face to my right, and then Harry, who finally had his eyes open, and was looking at me. I slowly lifted a finger to my lips and then pointed to the door.
Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to Harry's bed. She was carrying the largest block of chocolate I had ever seen. It looked like a small boulder.
"Ah, you're awake," she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on the bedside table between mine and Harry's beds and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.
"How's Ron?" Harry, Hermione and I asked together.
"He'll live," Madam Pomfrey said 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.
"I need to see the Headmaster," he said.
"Potter," Madam Pomfrey said soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The Dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment now —"
"WHAT?"
Harry, Hermione and I all jumped out of our beds. But Harry's shout had been heard in the corridor outside, and next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.
"Harry, Harry, what's this?" Fudge said, 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 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!"
"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she had hurried to Harry's side and was gazing imploringly into Fudges face. I quickly followed her. "Rory and I saw him, too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and —"
"You see, Minister?" Snape said. "Confunded, all three of them . . . Black's done a very good job on them . . ."
"Would you just butt out?" I said haughtily, at the same time Harry roared, "WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!"
"Minister! Professor!" Madam Pomfrey said 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.
"Professor Dumbledore," I said quickly, "Sirius Black —"
"For heaven's sake!" Madam Pomfrey said hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist —"
"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr Potter, Miss Areli and Miss Granger," Dumbledore said 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?" Snape spat. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive —"
"That, indeed, is Black's story," Dumbledore said, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.
"And does my evidence count for nothing?" Snape snarled. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him in the grounds."
"That was because you were knocked out, Professor!" Hermione said earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear —"
"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"
"Don't talk to her like that!" I snapped.
"Now, Snape," Fudge said, startled, "the young ladies are disturbed in their minds, we must make allowances —"
"I would like to speak to Harry, Aurora, and Hermione alone," Dumbledore said abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy — please leave us."
"Headmaster!" Madam Pomfrey spluttered. "They need treatment, they need rest —"
"This cannot wait," Dumbledore said. "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 Harry, Aurora and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.
Snape took a step towards 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," Dumbledore said quietly.
Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. When it closed behind them, Dumbledore turned to Harry, Hermione and I. We all burst into speech at the same time.
"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 silence our rambling.
"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word — and the word of three thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eye-witnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret Keeper."
"But Uncle Remus can tell you —" I blurted out, not able to stop myself.
"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 —"
"But —" Harry tried to say, but Dumbledore cut across him.
"Listen to me, Harry. 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' sentence."
"But you believe us."
"Yes, I do," Dumbledore said quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic . . ."
I stared up into the grave face and felt a terrible jolt in my stomach. Dumbledore was our last hope, and now that was gone.
"What we need," Dumbledore said slowly, and his light-blue eyes moved between the three of us, "is more time."
"But —" Hermione began, but a moment later her eyes became very round. "OH!"
"Now, pay attention," Dumbledore said, in a very low, clear voice. "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, all three of you. You must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law — you know what is at stake . . . you — must — not — be — seen."
I immediately knew that Dumbledore must've been talking about Hermione's secret Time-Turner. Dumbledore 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?" Harry repeated, seeming very confused as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"
I chose not to answer him as Hermione fumbled with the neck of her robes, and pulled out a very long, very fine gold chain from beneath them.
"Harry, Rory, come here," she said urgently. "Quick!"
I nudged Harry along with me as I moved towards her. She was holding the chain out, and I saw the tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.
"Here —"
She threw the chain around both of our necks, too.
"Ready?" she asked breathlessly.
"What are we doing?" Harry said, looking completely lost as I nodded.
Hermione turned the hourglass over three times.
The dark ward dissolved around us. I had the sensation that I was flying backwards very fast. A blur of colours and shapes rushed past us, and my ears were pounding. I saw Harry open his mouth, but no sound came out of it.
And then I felt solid ground beneath my feet, and everything came into focus again —
I was standing next to Harry and Hermione in the deserted Entrance Hall. A stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open doors, making Harry's green eyes look brighter as he looked wildly around.
"Hermione, what —?" Harry started, but Hermione had already seized both of our arms and was dragging us across the hall to the door of a broom cupboard.
"In here!" she hissed.
Hermione opened the door, pushed us inside amongst the buckets and mops, followed us in, then slammed the door behind us.
"What — how — Hermione, what happened?" Harry spluttered.
"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered, lifting the chain off our necks in the darkness. "Three hours back . . ."
"But —"
"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think — I think it might be us!"
Hermione pressed her ear against the cupboard door.
"It probably is us," I whispered. "We were going down to Hagrid's right around now."
"You're right," Hermione said.
"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there, too?"
"Yes," Hermione said, her ear still glued to the cupboard door. "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.
"Where did you get that hourglass thing?" Harry asked her.
"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, but Rory eventually figured it out on her own. Professor McGonagall 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 . . .
"Harry, Rory, 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?"
I stared at her shadowy face.
"There must be something that happened around now that he wants us to change," I pondered. "What's happening? We're walking down to Hagrids, but then what . . ."
Harry frowned, screwing up his whole face in concentration.
"Dumbledore just said — just said we could save more than one innocent life . . ." His face lit up in realization. "Rory, Hermione, we're going to save Buckbeak!"
"But — how will that help Sirius?" Hermione asked.
"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!"
I turned my head to look at Harry and nodded slowly. "That just might work . . ."
But Hermione looked terrified.
"If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"
"Well, we've got to try, haven't we?" I said determinedly, the prospect of adventure making me buzz with adrenaline.
Harry stood up and pressed his ear against the door.
"Doesn't sound like anyone's there . . . come on, let's go . . ."
Harry pushed the cupboard door open. The Entrance Hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as we could, we darted out of the cupboard and down the stone steps. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest glided with gold once more.
"If anyone's looking out of the window —" Hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind us.
"We'll run for it," Harry said, unwavered. "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 round by the greenhouses!" Hermione said 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!"
Harry and I set off at a sprint, Hermione not far behind us. We tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, paused momentarily behind them, then set off again, fast as we could, skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing towards the shelter of the Forest.
I arrived in the shadows of the trees a second after Harry, Hermione not long after me, panting.
"Right," she gasped, "we need to sneak over to Hagrid's. Keep out of sight, you two . . ."
We made our way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the Forest. Just as I caught a glimpse of Hagrid's house, I heard a knock upon his door. We moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from the sides. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. Then, I heard the past Harry's voice.
"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 before shutting the door very quickly.
"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," present Harry said fervently.
"Definitely," I agreed, "but let's move along a bit to get nearer to Buckbeak."
We crept through the trees until the nervous Hippogriff that was tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch was in view.
"Now?" Harry whispered.
"No!" Hermione said. "If we steal him now, those Committee people will think Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen he's tied outside!"
"That's going to give us about sixty seconds," Harry said incredulously.
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, we heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.
"Hermione, Rory," Harry said suddenly, "what if we — we just run in there, and grab Pettigrew —"
"No!" Hermione said 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, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?" Hermione asked.
"I'd — I'd think I'd gone mad," Harry said, "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!" Harry said. "It was just an idea, I just thought —"
"Hey!" I whispered, nudging Harry and pointing towards the castle. Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member and Macnair the executioner were coming down the front steps. "We're about to come out!"
Moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and I saw myself, Harry, Ron and Hermione walking out of it with Hagrid. It was no doubt very strange to see myself in the pumpkin patch, but I didn't have much time to dwell on that.
"It's okay, Beaky, it's okay . . ." Hagrid said to Buckbeak. Then he turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione and me. "Go on. Get goin'."
"Hagrid, we can't —"
"Buckbeak's innocent —"
"We'll tell them what really happened —"
"They can't kill him —"
"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"
I watched the Hermione in the pumpkin patch throw the Invisibility Cloak over me, Harry and Ron.
"Go quick. Don' listen . . ."
There was a knock on Hagrid's front door, meaning the execution party had arrived. Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the door ajar. I could see the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard four pairs of feet retreating. Our past selves had gone but the three of us hidden in the trees could hear what was happening in the cabin through the back door this time.
"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.
"Out — outside," Hagrid croaked.
I pulled Harry down with me out of Macnair's sight as his face appeared at Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then Fudge spoke.
"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 disappeared from the window.
"Wait here," Harry whispered to me and Hermione. "I'll do it."
As Fudge's voice started again, Hermione and I watched nervously as Harry darted out from behind the trees, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch and approached Buckbeak.
"It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the Hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall be executed on the sixth of June at sundown —"
I watched with wide eyes as Harry stared up at Buckbeak and bowed. As soon as Buckbeak stood up from his own bow, Harry began to fumble with the rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.
". . . sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Waldon Macnair . . ."
I saw Harry's mouth move as he muttered something to Buckbeak, but whatever it was, I couldn't hear.
". . . as witnessed below. Hagrid, you sign here . . ."
Even when Harry seemed to throw all his weight onto the rope, Buckbeak didn't budge.
"Well, let's get this over with," the reedy old voice of the Committee member said from inside Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid, perhaps it would be better if you stayed inside —"
"No, I — I wan' ter be with him . . . I won' wan' him ter be alone —"
"Come on, Harry," I whispered, as footsteps echoed from within the cabin.
Harry tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. I breathed a small sigh of relief when the Hippogriff finally began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. But they were still about ten feet away from the Forest, in plain view of Hagrid's front door.
"One moment, please, Macnair," Dumbledore's voice said. "You need to sign, too."
The footsteps stopped, and Harry heaved on the rope. Buckbeak snapped his beak and walked a little faster.
Hermione and I stuck our heads out from behind the tree.
"Harry, hurry!" I mouthed.
I could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. Harry gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot.
Finally, they had reached the trees.
"Quick! Quick!" Hermione moaned. We both darted out from behind the tree and seized the rope, too. With our added weight, Buckbeak moved much faster. I looked up and saw that we were now blocked from sight; I couldn't see Hagrid's garden at all.
"Stop!" Harry whispered. "They might hear us —"
Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione, Buckbeak and I had gone quite still; even the Hippogriff seemed to be listening closely.
Silence . . . then —
"Where is it?" the Committee member asked in his reedy voice. "Where is the beast?"
"It was tied here!" the executioner said furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"
"How extraordinary," Dumbledore said. I could have sworn there was a note of amusement in his voice.
"Beaky!" Hagrid said huskily.
There was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger. Then came the howling, and this time we 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. Harry, Hermione and I tightened our grip and dug our heels into the Forest floor to stop him.
"Someone untied him!" the executioner was snarling. "We should search the grounds, the Forest —"
My heart skipped a beat.
"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" Dumbledore asked, still sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will . . . Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."
Thank goodness.
"O' — o' course, Professor," Hagrid said, sounding weak with happiness. "Come in, come in . . ."
The three of us listened closely. We heard footsteps, the soft cursing of the executioner, the snap of the door, and then silence once more.
"Now what?" Harry whispered, looking around.
"We'll have to hide in here," Hermione said, looking 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' 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 need to move," I said, trying to remember what happened next. "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."
"Okay," Hermione said, gripping Buckbeak's rope tighter. "But we've got to keep out of sight, remember . . ."
We moved around the edge of the Forest, darkness quickly falling, until we were hidden behind a clump of trees where we could make out the Willow.
"There's Ron!" Harry said 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 three more figures materialised out of nowhere. I watched myself, Harry and Hermione chase after Ron. Then I saw Ron dive.
"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat —"
"There's Sirius!" Harry pointed out. The great shape of the dog had bounded out from the roots of the Willow. I saw him bowl Harry over, then Ron push me out of the way and get seized himself.
"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" Harry asked, as we watched the dog pull Ron into the roots. "Ouch — look, Rory just got walloped by the tree — so did me and you, Hermione — this is weird —"
The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; I could see Harry, Hermione and I darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk. Then the tree froze.
"That was Crookshanks pressing the knot," Hermione said.
"There we go . . ." I trailed off.
"We're in," Harry said.
The moment our past selves disappeared, the tree began to move again. Seconds later, I 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!" Hermione said. "If only Dumbledore had come with us . . ."
"But Macnair and Fudge would've come, too," I told her.
"Yeah," Harry said bitterly. "And I bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot . . ."
We watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. For a few minutes, the scene was deserted. Then —
"Here comes Uncle Remus!" I said, as another figure came sprinting down the stone steps and haring towards the Willow. When I looked up at the sky, I saw that clouds were completely obscuring the moon.
We watched Uncle Remus seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot in the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and Uncle Remus disappeared into the gap in its roots as well.
"If only he'd grabbed the Cloak," Harry said. "It's just lying there . . ."
He turned to me and Hermione.
"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and —"
"Harry, we mustn't be seen!"
"How can you stand this?" he asked Hermione fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitated. "I'm going to grab the Cloak!"
"Harry, no!" Hermione exclaimed.
I seized Harry's arm not a moment too soon. Just then, we 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 what might have happened?" I whispered. "Hagrid would have seen you! I know it's frustrating to just watch everything happen, but we've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"
The Hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again; I dropped Harry's arm and seized the rope with both hands, straining to hold Buckbeak back. We watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. As soon as he was gone, Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head drooped sadly.
"I'm sorry, Buckbeak," I said, stepping forward to stroke the soft feathers on his neck.
Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape had come charging out of them, running towards the Willow.
Snape skidded to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the Cloak and held it up.
"Get your filthy hands off of it," Harry snarled under his breath.
"Shh!" Hermione hissed, as I grabbed his hand so that he wouldn't try to run out and take the Cloak back.
Snape seized the branch Uncle Remus had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the Cloak.
"So that's it," Hermione said quietly. "We're all down there . . . and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again . . ."
She took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees.
"Harry, Rory, there's still something I don't understand . . . why didn't the Dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and then I think I passed out . . . there were so many of them . . ."
Harry and I sat down next to her. He explained that he saw something as the nearest Dementor had lowered its mouth to Harry's, a large silver something that came galloping across the lake and forced the Dementors to retreat.
I stared at him in surprise.
"But what was it?"
"There's only one thing it could have been to make the Dementors go," Harry said. "A real Patronus. A powerful one."
"But who conjured it?" I asked.
Harry didn't say anything.
"Didn't you see what they looked like?" Hermione said eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"
"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "He wasn't a teacher."
"But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those Dementors away," Hermione said. "If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see —?"
"Yeah, I saw him," Harry said slowly. "But . . . maybe I imagined it . . . I wasn't thinking straight . . . I passed out right afterwards . . ."
"Who did you think it was?" I asked him.
"I think —" Harry swallowed, looking conflicted. "I think it was my dad."
Well that certainly wasn't the answer I was expecting. Hermione seemed to be on the same page, because her mouth was wide open, gazing at Harry with a mixture of alarm and pity.
"Harry, your dad's — well — dead," she said quietly.
"I know that," Harry said quickly, his grip on my hand tightening.
"You think you saw his ghost?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know . . . no . . . he looked solid . . ."
"But then —"
"Maybe I was seeing things," Harry said. "But . . . from what I could see . . . it looked like him . . . I've got photos of him . . ."
I bit my lip, and looked down into the small patch of grassless dirt beneath my feet. I wanted to believe him, I really did, but . . .
"I know it sounds mad," Harry said flatly. He turned to look at Buckbeak, who was digging his beak into the ground, apparently searching for worms.
The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. I passed the time by tracing little flowers and leaves into the dirt. I could feel Harry watching me, but chose not to acknowledge it for fear that my face would go red enough for him to notice.
An hour later, Hermione, who had been sitting with her face turned towards the Willow, snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Here we come!" she whispered.
Harry, Hermione and I got to our feet. Buckbeak raised his head. I saw Uncle Remus, Ron and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots, followed by the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upwards. Next came Harry, Hermione, Sirius and I. They all began to walk towards the castle.
I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I glanced up at the sky, knowing that any moment the clouds were going to move aside and show the moon.
"Harry, Rory," Hermione muttered, "we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do . . ."
"Se we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again . . ." Harry said quietly.
"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" Hermione snapped. "There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius! We're not supposed to be doing anything else!"
"All right!"
The moon slid out from behind its cloud. The tiny figures in the distance stopped. Then there was movement and I winced, knowing fully well what was coming —
"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming —"
"Rory! Hermione!" Harry said suddenly. "We've got to move!"
I frowned. Did he not hear what Hermione just said. I looked back out of the Forest, and my eyes suddenly widened in realization.
"We mustn't, I keep telling you —"
"No, Hermione, Uncle Remus is going to run into the Forest!" I said quickly. "Right at us!"
Hermione gasped.
"Quick!" she said, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! 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!"
We ran, as fast as we could, back to Hagrid's cabin, Buckbeak cantering along behind us. I could hear the werewolf howling behind us . . .
The cabin was in sight. Harry skidded to the door, wrenched it open and Hermione, Buckbeak and I flashed past him; Harry threw himself in after us and bolted the door. Fang started barking loudly.
"Shh, Fang, it's us!" Hermione said, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quieten him. "That was really close!" she said to me and Harry.
"Yeah . . ."
Harry was looking out of the window, squinting into the darkness. 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," Harry said slowly. "I can't see what's going on — we won't know when it's time —"
Hermione looked up wearing a suspicious expression.
"I'm not going to try and interfere," Harry said quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"
"I'll go with him," I said. "If he tries anything — hey, don't look at me like that — I'll bring him back."
"Well . . . okay, then . . . I'll wait here with Buckbeak . . . but Harry, Rory, be careful — there's a werewolf out there — and the Dementors —"
"We'll be careful," I promised her, before following Harry outside again.
I could hear yelping in the distance as we edged around the cabin. I looked up at Harry, and he nodded, which told me he heard them, too. That meant the Dementors were closing in on Sirius . . . Harry, Hermione and I would be running to him any moment . . .
Harry and I stared out towards the lake, waiting for whoever had sent that Patronus. I held onto my wand tightly, just in case.
And then the Dementors were there. They were emerging out of the darkness from every direction, gliding around the edges of the lake . . . They were moving away from where we stood, to the opposite bank.
Suddenly, Harry began to run. I wanted to shout after him, but that would alert the Dementors, so I just followed him instead.
Harry threw himself behind a bush at the edge of the water, and I followed suit. We peered through the leaves, watching our past selves struggle to produce Patronuses. Soon the glimmers of silver on the opposite bank were extinguished.
"Come on!" Harry muttered, staring about. "Where are you? Dad, come on —"
But no one came. I saw myself collapse next to Harry across the lake. A Dementor was lowering its hood.
"Harry," I whispered. "No one's coming."
He either didn't hear me, or chose not to answer. I started to panic — if nobody came to rescue us soon, we were going to die.
"Harry!" I said, louder and more frantic this time. "Harry, no one's coming!"
Harry glanced at me, then his eyes widened like he had just figured out the toughest question on an exam. Then, he flung himself out from behind the bush and pulled out his wand.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled.
And out of the end of his wand burst, instead of the usual shapeless cloud of mist, a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. A real, corporeal Patronus. It was so bright I had to squint my eyes to get a good look, but when I did, I saw that it looked something like a horse. It was galloping silently away from us, across the black surface of the lake. It lowered its head and charged at the swarming Dementors . . . now it was galloping around and around the black shapes on the ground, and the Dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness . . . they were gone.
I stumbled to my feet and over to Harry's side as the Patronus turned. It cantered back towards Harry across the still surface of the water. I then realised that it wasn't a horse — it was a stag. It was shining as brightly as the moon above . . .
I watched in awe as it stopped at the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at Harry with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it bowed its antlered head.
"Prongs," Harry whispered.
But as Harry lifted a trembling hand, fingertips outstretched towards the creature, it vanished.
Harry stood there, hand still outstretched.
"You did it," I breathed, turning to face him. "You saved us."
Before either of us could say anything, the sound of hooves came loudly from behind us. Harry and I both whirled around and saw Hermione dashing towards us, dragging Buckbeak behind her.
"What did you do?" she said fiercely. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout! Rory, you were supposed to —"
"I just saved all our lives . . ." Harry said. "Get behind here — behind this bush — I'll explain."
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," Harry said, and I couldn't help but smile at the awestruck and slightly dazed look that wouldn't leave his face, "because I'd already done it . . . Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, a little," I said, nodding.
"Harry, Rory, look at Snape!" Hermione said, pointing towards the other bank.
The three of us peered around the bush in that direction. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, Sirius and I onto them. A fifth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved us away towards the castle.
"Right, it's nearly time," Hermione said 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 to the ward before anybody realises we're missing . . ."
We waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while the bush next to us whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, was ferreting for worms again.
"D'you reckon he's up there yet?" Harry asked, 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!"
I stared through the darkness, trying to identify the figure. It was a man hurrying across the grounds, towards one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted in his belt.
"Macnair!" Harry said. "The executioner! He's gone to get the Dementors! This is it —"
Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Harry gave her a leg up. I was about to try and get up there myself, but Harry put his hands on my waist (I did not blush) and helped lift me up instead, so that I could sit in front of Hermione. Then he placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbed up in front of me. He pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins.
"Ready?" he whispered to me and Hermione. "Rory, you'd better hold on to me, and Hermione hold on to Rory —"
He nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels, and I wrapped my arms around his waist.
Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. I sucked in a breath in surprise when Hermione squeezed me very tightly around the middle.
"Hermione, I sort of need to breathe!" I said over my shoulder.
But I didn't think she could hear me. I heard her muttering, "Oh, no — I don't like this — oh, I really don't like this —"
I gripped the front of Harry's jacket as he urged Buckbeak forwards. This was nothing like a broom — it was much more unpredictable. I tried not to think about how slippery Buckbeak's feathers were as we glided quietly towards the upper floors of the castle. Harry pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned.
"Woah!" Harry said, pulling backwards as hard as he could.
Buckbeak slowed down and we found ourselves at a stop, unless you counted the fact that we kept rising up and down several feet as he beat his wings to remain airborne.
"He's there!" I said, spotting Sirius as we rose up beside the window. Harry reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.
Sirius looked up, and I saw his jaw drop. 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 onto me with her left hand.
"Alohomora!"
The window sprang open.
"How — how —?" Sirius said weakly, staring at the Hippogriff.
"Get on — there's not much time," Harry said, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here — the Dementors are coming. Macnair's gone to get them."
Sirius placed a hand on either side of the window-frame and heaved himself out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back, and pull himself onto the Hippogriff behind Hermione.
"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" Harry said, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower — come on!"
The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and we were soaring upwards again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements and Harry, Hermione and I slipped 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've gone."
Buckbeak pawed at the ground, tossing his sharp head.
"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" Sirius said gently.
"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 us.
"How can I ever thank —"
"GO!" Harry, Hermione and I shouted together.
Sirius wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.
"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are — truly your father's son, Harry . . . and Aurora, your parents would be proud . . ."
I smiled at him. "Call me Rory."
He returned the gesture and squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry, Hermione and I jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more . . . the Hippogriff took off into the air . . . he and his rider became smaller and smaller as we gazed after them . . . then a cloud drifted across the moon . . . they were gone.
-
i'm updating kind of early because i might either evacuate or lose power because of the hurricane. if you're anywhere near the path of hurricane dorian, please stay safe and be smart about it.
make sure you have a gallon of water per person for at least three days, at least a three day supply of non-perishable food, flashlights, extra batteries, a first aid kit, and maybe even a radio that doesn't need to be plugged in if you're not evacuating. hurricanes are unpredictable, and if you're not careful, can be deadly.
sorry for the depressing message, but it's better to be aware than in the dark. stay safe.