FANTOD
(n.) state of extreme anxiety ; distress
'feeling so attacked right now'
TESSA HAD QUESTIONS — SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT FILLED HER TO THE BRIM. And yet, walking down the stairs with the strangest group of Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Snape, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Crookshanks leading the way made her think carefully. Perhaps this wasn't the best time to ask about her past, it didn't seem all too important in this situation right now.
She waited for fourteen years — what can a few more days or weeks do?
They finally began walking along the tunnel with Tessa following close enough behind Sirius and Harry that she could overhear their conversation.
"You know what this means?" Sirius asked Harry. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
"You're free," Harry said.
"Yes . . . But I'm also — I don't know if anyone ever told you — I'm your godfather." Sirius threw a glance at Tessa with a warm smile. "I'm both of your godfather."
Tessa faltered in her walking — genuinely caught by surprise at that. No one has actually told her about this, she only thought that Sirius was solely Harry's godfather.
"Yeah, I knew that," Harry said with a slight shrug.
"Well . . . your parents appointed me your guardian. If anything happened to them . . . " Sirius cleared his throat before continuing, "I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle. But . . . well . . . think about it. Once my name's cleared . . . if you wanted a . . . a different home . . . "
"What — live with you?" Harry's eyes widened and Tessa felt herself smile upon seeing the hope shine in them. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to. I understand, I just thought I'd —"
"Are you insane? Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
Sirius spun around to look at Harry; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Sirius didn't seem to care. "You want to? You mean it?"
"Yeah, I mean it!"
Tessa watched as a large smile spread across Sirius's face, and suddenly — she felt . . . heartbreak. The familiarity of his face abruptly hit her, and she could see glimpses of her childhood flash by. A hazy memory of a baby intently watching a curly haired man play with her and tell her stories. She felt an overwhelming sadness fill her at the thought of barely remembering him — someone who was best friends with her mother.
They slipped out of the tree after Crookshanks pressed his paw against the knot. The grounds were dark, and their only source of light was from the castle. Silently, they set off walking again as Lupin said threateningly, "One wrong move, Peter."
As they trekked across the grass, Tessa saw that Harry had went over next to Hermione, letting Sirius walk without company. She hurried to walk side by side with him as she coughed awkwardly. "Er — excuse me, Mr. Black — Sirius — Mr. Godfather?"
Sirius let out a chuckle, eyes crinkling at the sides and making him look years younger. "You can call me Sirius, Tessa." He sent her a mischievous glance. "Or did you prefer Paddy?"
Tessa snorted and rolled her eyes. "That was my bad — I had wanted to give you a name instead of constantly calling you over as 'Here, boy!'"
"Your mother used to call me that," he said after a moment's pause, a melancholic smile playing on his lips. "It was either Siri or Paddy. Sirius if she was being serious."
Tessa grabbed the opportunity. "But she's not — she's Catherine."
The laugh that left Sirius made Tessa beam. The fact that she had more family made her heart warm as it spread throughout her. He shook his head to himself. "Truly your mother's daughter — the amount of Sirius jokes she was unable to keep to herself."
She scoffed playfully. "You have no idea how many of them I've come up with, but never found the right moment to say it." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she said quietly, "Harry might have known you were his godfather, but I actually didn't. I just found out when you said it."
Sirius let out a soft puff of breath. "When your mother was pregnant, she had hoped for twins so that Remus and I could be the godfather for each. But when you were born, your parents, Remus, and I collectively agreed that I should be your godfather. When Harry was born, it was supposed to be Remus — I don't know what agreement they had, but it became me again."
Tessa cocked her head to the side. "Can I ask — what was my mother like?"
A breathy chuckle left Sirius as he glanced up at the starry sky. "Catherine was a ball of fire — brave, beautiful, and fearless. She was selfless — the fact that she gave up her life in the end. One would think it was incredibly selfish of her to sacrifice herself, but I think she did it while thinking of the greater good." He turned to ruffle the top of her head. "From what I've heard about you so far — I can say, without a doubt, you're twice as mischievous as your parents were." He laughed and shook his head. "She was your father's everything — his sun, moon, and stars. She was his whole world." Sirius smiled — one that held pain and sadness. "A love so pure and unrivaled, no one can compete with that."
It was now or never. Gathering up her courage, Tessa finally blurted it out. "Who's my father? Please — I need to know."
Sirius cut his eyes to her, eyebrows furrowing as a scowl tugged his lips. "What are you talking about? How do you not know who your own father is?"
Tessa was shaking her head. "Nobody would tell me. They all say it's not time yet — Uncle Kasi thinks that he's not the right person to tell me. That I need to hear it from someone else."
Sirius grunted. "Kasimir, that git. Tessa, your father is — "
He froze, turning so still Tessa didn't think he was even breathing. A cloud had shifted, spilling moonlight over them all as both of them swiveled to face Remus. He had gone rigid — absolutely rigid as his limbs began to shake. Tessa glanced behind her to see that they were a long way from the Shrieking Shack.
"Oh, my," Hermione suddenly gasped as she stumbled backwards into Tessa. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"
"Run," Sirius whispered. "Run. Now."
Tessa and Harry shared a look, both glued to the ground as they hesitated. Ron was still chained to Pettigrew and Remus, they couldn't just leave him. Tessa made a move to go over to the redhead, but Sirius stuck an arm out barricading her from moving closer. "Leave it to me — RUN!"
There was a snarling noise as Remus's head and body lengthened. His shoulders hunched as fur started to cover his entire body. He snapped his long jaws menacingly as both Tessa and Hermione let out silent shrieks and fell against each other.
Tessa wildly turned to Sirius, only to find that he had already transformed back to the enormous, bearlike dog. He bounded forward as Remus yanked himself free from the chains binding him to Ron and Pettigrew. Suddenly, the two canines locked with each other — razor sharp teeth and claws trying to slice the other to ribbons.
Tessa was in slight panic, her mind going into overdrive as she tried to think on what to do, when Hermione's scream alerted her. She whipped her head to the side to see that Pettigrew had used Remus's wand to send Ron motionless to the ground and Crookshanks flying into the air.
"Expelliarmus!" Tessa shouted, her wand pointed directly at Pettigrew as Remus's wand flew into the air.
"Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward to him, but it was too late. Pettigrew was already transforming back to a nasty, fat rat and scurrying away from them.
There was a sudden howl that echoed in Tessa's ears as she looked up to see Remus stepping away from Sirius who was lying on the grass, heavily bleeding. She watched as the werewolf slowly approached an unconscious Ron and she yelled, "STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"
"Tessa, no!" Hermione tried to pull her back, but Tessa had already darted forward a couple of feet away from the others with her arms stretched to the side.
A throaty growl escaped Remus as he prowled toward her as though she was prey. Somewhere behind Tessa, she could hear the soft pounding of something beating the ground. She kept her eyes fixed on the werewolf in front of her as it let out a snarl and made a leap toward her.
Before she could even register anything, there was a deafening roar that shook the earth and reverberated to Tessa's spine. She gasped upon seeing a flash of silver attack the werewolf as the two animals were sent sprawling into the ground. She stumbled backwards and away from them, Harry pulling her aside as they watched the scene unfold before them.
There was a large, silver tiger that no one knew where it had come from — and it was doing its best to distract Remus from the group.
There was a deep humming that expanded throughout Tessa's body. A sort of unearthly static that lured her to the tiger, one that she could barely resist. She didn't have any time to figure out what that feeling was because the next thing she knew, the tiger and Remus had disappeared into the forest.
Breathing heavily, Tessa blinked at the direction the two animals had just left. "What the hell was that?"
Harry was at a loss of words, opening and closing his mouth. His eyes fell on Sirius who was whimpering and struggling to get on his feet. "Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!"
Sirius was suddenly straightening himself before he turned and set off into the forest as well. Tessa hurried over to Ron whose eyes were half-closed and mouth hung open.
"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered.
"I don't know . . . ," Harry mumbled hopelessly.
There was no one left to help them except for a useless and unconscious Snape who was still floating midair with his head lolling to the side.
"We need to tell someone," Tessa said, trying to think rationally. "We should hurry to the castle and bring the two."
Harry nodded. "You're right, come — "
Somewhere far to their right was a terrible yelping and whining of a dog in pain. The three shared a look of horror as they muttered, "Sirius." As though sharing the same thought, they set off running to the direction of where the sound came from. Having enough training, Tessa had bolted past Harry and Hermione, entering the area where a lake emerged into sight.
By the lakeshore, Tessa slowed down to a stop upon seeing that Sirius had turned back to a man, crouching on all fours with his hand over his head. "No," he moaned in pain. "No . . . please . . . "
Tessa felt them before she saw them — the familiar wave of cold that enveloped her in an unwelcoming manner. Her heart pounded erratically against her chest, her breathing became labored as she took in the hundreds of Dementors gliding around the lake toward them. "No," she muttered hoarsely with a shake of her head. "Not again."
Fog blurred her vision and she whipped around to see Harry raising his wand as he yelled, "Hermione, think of something happy!"
Tessa fumbled for her wand, raising it high into the air. Remembering the memory of seeing her family in the Mirror, she shouted, "Expecto patronum!" A slight shield of mist escaped her wand and barely lasted five seconds.
Harry wasn't doing the best either, his rising panic getting to him. "Expecto patronum! Hermione, help me! Expecto patronum!"
Hermione couldn't do it — the Dementors were closing in on them. She was the first to collapse among them, her motionless body lying on the grass next to Sirius.
Tessa's breathing turned ragged now, her vision clouding as she fell to her knees. "Ex — Expecto — " she gasped. "Expecto patronum!" The Dementor next to her paused upon seeing the shadowy wisp come as a barrier between them before the light disappeared. It made an attempt to move closer to where she knelt protectively in front of Sirius. "Please no — he's innocent!" She let out a sharp intake of breath as a wave of vertigo racked her body. "Expecto . . . "
Tessa felt all the energy drain out of her body; all the happiness and hope sucked out of her soul. There was nothing but the feeling of dread and despair as she watched with paralyzed terror as the Dementor lifted the hood from its head. It reached out with its clammy hands to grip her by the sides of her neck, forcing her to face it and receive the Dementor's Kiss.
There was a scream from the distance — two screams of the Patronus charm. They sounded oddly familiar and yet, foreign at the same time. With immense difficulty, Tessa forced herself to resist the Dementor and shifted her gaze to the side. The fog was lifting, and there was a silvery light glowing brighter and brighter as it drove away the Dementors.
A strangled cry left her as the one holding her was pushed away and she fell forward to a hunch, fingers digging into the earth at the sense of reality. It was warm — she could feel again. Fighting the urge to pass out then and there, Tessa looked up from beneath her brow to see two animals within the illuminating brightness. One was galloping across the lake, the strong legs taking it away from them. The other was a hulking feline that had slowed down from its chase, prowling the clearing as it turned its eyes to them.
The last thing Tessa saw was the enormous feline approach a woman from a distance, bowing its head to be pat on. "M — Mum?" And just like that — she passed out on the grass.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
Tessa could hear voices despite the throbbing of her head and the fiery ache in her muscles. Voices that were familiar to her, yet her mind was too groggy to comprehend them.
"Shocking business . . . shocking . . . miracle none of them died . . . never heard 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 wangle 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, Valentine, 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 license by the headmaster, with Valentine not too far behind —"
"Ah, well, Snape . . . Harry Potter, you know . . . we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned. Not to mention, we all know how much Dumbledore favored Catherine and the Ministry have close ties with Edward Valentine — Tessa is just as an exception as Harry is."
"And yet — is it good for them to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat them like any other student. And any other student would be suspended — at the very least — for leading their friends into such danger. Consider, Minister — against all school rules — after all the precautions put in place for their protection — out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer — and I have reason to believe Potter has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too — "
"Well, well . . . we shall see, Snape, we shall see . . . The kids have undoubtedly been foolish . . . "
Tessa wanted to scowl and make a witty comment when her brain finally processed Snape and the Minister of Magic talking — but her sore limbs didn't allow her to.
"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 at the entrances . . . "
"Extraordinary. And yet Black, Tessa, and Harry, and the girl —"
"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."
Tessa half-opened of her eyes, still drowsy from whatever medicine she was given. She was in the infirmary, Harry on the bed next to her. Madam Pomfrey was somewhere in front of her, taking care of Ron who stayed on the bed across with Hermione on the one next to his. She winced as she shifted in the bed, blinking both eyes and getting them to fully open when she locked eyes with Hermione. She pressed a finger to her lips and pointed at the door.
Tessa pushed herself up, her back against the pillows as she glimpsed to the side and saw Cornelius Fudge and Snape talking outside. Madam Pomfrey turned around, and Tessa saw a large block of chocolate in her hands. "Ah, you two are awake!" She placed the chocolate on the bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.
"How's Ron?" Harry, Tessa, and Hermione all asked together.
"He'll live," Madam Pomfrey replied grimly. "As for you two, you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're — Potter, what do you think you're doing?"
Harry was sitting up and reaching for his glasses and wand. "I need to see the headmaster."
Tessa nodded mutely and grabbed for her wand, pushing the blankets off of her as she stood on her feet.
"Potter," Madam Pomfrey said, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The Dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now —"
"WHAT?" Tessa exclaimed, a slight buzzing sound in her ears upon hearing that. Unfortunately, the two men outside had heard her because they entered the ward instantly to see the three of them out of beds.
"Harry, Harry, what's this?" Fudge said, looking agitated. "Tessa, you should be in bed — have they had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.
An annoyed look crossed Tessa's features as she pointed at Hermione. "Is Hermione invisible to you or something?"
"Minister, listen!" Harry interrupted. "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 — "
Fudge shook his head calmly at Harry. "Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control . . . "
"NO, YOU DON'T!" Tessa was shouting, her temper once again getting the best of her.
"YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!" Harry's fingers clenched to fists as he shook in anger.
"STOP TALKING TO US LIKE WE'RE FOOLS AND IDIOTIC ENOUGH TO TREAT SOMETHING THIS SERIOUS OF AN ISSUE LIKE IMMATURE CHILDREN."
Hermione rushed over in between Harry and Tessa to grab their hands and calm them down. "Minister, listen, please, I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and —"
"You see, Minister?" Snape said in a greasy voice. "Confunded, the three of them . . . Black's done a very good job on them . . . "
Tessa threw her hands up in the air. "OH, MY GOD — WHY DOESN'T ANYBODY LISTEN IN HERE?"
"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry roared.
"Minister! Professor!" Madam Pomfrey said angrily. "I must insist that you leave. Potter and Valentine are my patients, and they should not be distressed!" Hermione was perhaps the only sane one in this situation right now.
"We're not distressed, we're trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously. "If they'd just listen —" Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Harry"s mouth as she forced him back onto the bed.
Tessa's eyes widened as Madam Pomfrey began to chase her around the infirmary with a piece of chocolate waving threateningly in her hand. "No, wait — Madam Pomfrey! They need to listen to us — "
It was too late — the matron had cornered Tessa and stuck the bar of chocolate between her teeth and silenced her. Madam Pomfrey walked a defeated Tessa back to her bed. "Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave."
The door opened again, and it was Dumbledore.
Tessa sat upright as her hand shot up to the air. "PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE!" That was what she attempted to say, were it not for the enormous chocolate in her mouth that made her words come out muffled. She started to chew as quick as she can as she got out of bed.
Thankfully, Harry finished his chocolate first. "Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black —"
"For heaven's sake!" Madam Pomfrey cried hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist —"
"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Misses Valentine and 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 and Valentine's minds?" Snape spat with a glare at them. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive —"
"That, indeed, is Black's story."
"And does my evidence count for nothing? 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 filled in earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear."
"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"
Tessa glared at the greasy monkey. "Excuse me, but we've lugged around your unconscious body and lolling head carefully out of the Shrieking Shack. Perhaps if you could talk nicely to Hermione for once in your life, that would be excellent." She paused an added as an afterthought, "Professor."
Snape looked absolutely livid as he opened his mouth to bark something at her, but Fudge intervened, "Now, Snape, the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances —"
"I would like to speak to Harry, Tessa, and Hermione alone," Dumbledore said abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy — please leave us."
"Headmaster!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "They need treatment, they need rest —"
"This cannot wait," Dumbledore said. "I must insist."
With that said, the matron spun on her heel and headed straight to her office, slamming the door behind her for good measure. Fudge glanced at his large pocket watch on his waistcoat. "The Dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs." He held the door open for him and Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.
"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered to Dumbledore, his eyes hard with anger.
"I wish to speak to Harry, Tessa, and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.
Snape took a step toward Dumbledore. "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen. You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"
Tessa rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Oh, get over yourself. Move on, that was ages ago."
"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus." Dumbledore nodded once.
With his jaw clenched tight, Snape turned and stride out of the door as Fudge closed it shut behind them. At once, the three of them began speaking at once.
"Professor, Black's telling the truth — we saw Pettigrew — he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf —"
" — he's just as creepy as a man as he is as a rat — "
"— he's a rat —"
"— Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off —"
"— Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius —"
Dumbledore held up his hand to bring a halt to the flood of explanations. "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 one thirteen-year-old and two fourteen-year-old wizards 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 instantly.
"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 —" Tessa attempted to reason.
"Listen to me, you three. 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."
"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 . . . What we need," Dumbledore shifted his light blue eyes from Harry to Tessa and then to Hermione, "is more time."
"But —" Hermione began before her eyes widened. "OH!"
"Now, pay attention," Dumbledore said, 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, the 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."
Confused, Tessa tried to raise her hand but Hermione held it down without even looking at her.
Dumbledore walked towards the door before throwing a look at them. "I am going to lock you in. It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."
"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"
Tessa turned to see Hermione pulling out a very long, gold chain necklace hidden beneath her robes. "You two, come here," she said urgently. "Quick!"
Tessa and Harry shared a bewildered look but complied nonetheless. She caught a glimpse of a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it before Hermione threw the chain around their necks.
Harry moved toward her, completely bewildered.
"Ready?" she said breathlessly.
Tessa blinked. "Ready for what?"
"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely lost.
Hermione turned the hourglass over three times and Tessa opened her mouth to a silent gasp as the hospital ward dissolved. Her stomach heaved as she felt as though she were flying backward in a sped up sensation. There was a blur of people and moonlight shifting to sunlight, and then — everything was back to normal again.
The three of them were standing in the deserted entrance hall and from the bright light streaming inside, it was day. Tessa was dumbfounded as she allowed Hermione to tug the chain off of their necks.
Harry was extremely lost. "Hermione, what —?"
"In here!" Hermione grabbed them and pushed them inside a broom closet. Tessa looked around to realize it was their closet — hers and Malfoy's. She pressed her lips together to keep from pointing that out.
"What — how — Hermione, what happened?"
"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered in a slightly matter-of-fact voice. "Three hours back . . . "
"Ah," Tessa said, her eyes still wide as she tried to process everything. "Right — how silly of me to not have known that." Hermione quirked her lips upward and rolled her eyes playfully.
Harry seemed to not accept the fact they just time traveled as he reached down to pinch his leg. "But —"
"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think — I think it might be us!" Hermione pressed her ear against the closet door. "Footsteps across the hall . . . yes, I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"
"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"
Tessa, whose ears were also pressed against the door, patted the top of Harry's head. "Yes, we are — try and keep up, Harry dear."
"I'm sure it's us," Hermione said. "It doesn't sound like more than four people . . . and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak."
Tessa strained her ears as she heard the footsteps fading away. "We've gone down the front steps . . . " She stepped away from the door to lean backwards against the wall, arms crossed.
"Where did you get that hourglass thing?" Harry asked.
"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 . . . 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?"
"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," Harry said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago . . . "
"This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid's. We just heard ourselves leaving . . . "
Harry frowned to himself in thought. "Dumbledore just said — just said we could save more than one innocent life . . . "
Tessa let out a noise, realizing what the Headmaster meant. "I got it! He's talking about Buckbeak!"
"But," Hermione paused, "how will that help Sirius?"
Harry was now nodding along with Tessa. "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!" Tessa concluded and slapped a high-five with Harry, grinning like twins. "I would do it myself," Tessa said. "Walk in with my odd door powers, grab Sirius, and scurry away into another door I open." She sighed dramatically. "He can't follow me, unfortunately. Seems like we can't all have what we want." She clicked her tongue to herself.
Hermione wasn't listening, she still looked terrified from what they said earlier. "If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"
"Well, we've got to try, haven't we?" Harry said as he pressed his ear against the door. "Doesn't sound like anyone's there . . . Come on, let's go." He pushed open the door as the three quietly slipped out. They were walking down the corridor when Tessa heard voices on the hallway that led to the right side. Familiar voices.
She slowed down behind Harry and Hermione and peeked over the corner to see Malfoy and Theo strolling leisurely down the hall and talking, the blond boy tucking a hand loosely in his pocket.
"How much do you like her?" Theo asked, a slight grin on his face. Tessa raised an eyebrow interestedly — Malfoy liking someone? This is some hot tea right here she wouldn't dare miss out on.
Malfoy snorted and rolled his eyes as he said sarcastically, "How would I know? Should I use a ruler? Or put it on a scale?"
"Smartass," Theo huffed. "Say that she and I are both drowning in the lake. Who are you going to save?"
Malfoy's gray eyes slid over to Theo as though asking if he was being serious right now. "I wouldn't even let her go in the water with you."
Tessa covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her snickers. She never thought the day would come that Malfoy was actually besotted with someone. Oh, this was brilliant — she can't wait to tease him about this the next time they talk in the closet again.
"Tessa, what are you doing?" Harry hissed at her in a low voice and she quickly turned to run after them. They silently trekked across the grass, making their way to Hagrid's.
"If anyone's looking out of the window," Hermione mumbled worriedly, glancing at the castle behind them.
"We'll run for it," Harry said in assurance. "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. 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!"
Tessa nodded as they set off sprinting across the gardens and stopping for a moment behind the greenhouses. They continued to run swiftly around the Whomping Willow before they were safely hidden by the trees of the forest.
"Right," Hermione panted for breath as she arrived next to the Quidditch players. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's . . . Keep out of sight."
Silently, they kept to the edge of the forest until they saw Hagrid's hut. There was a knock on his door, and Tessa quickly yanked Hermione and went behind a wide trunk. They watched as Hagrid appeared in his doorway, looking around to see who'd knocked.
Then came the voice of Harry who was under the Cloak. "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 from next to Tessa.
She laughed softly. "I second that."
"Let's move along a bit," Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"
They skirted around until they saw the Hippogriff tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Tessa sighed as she watched Buckbeak — the poor thing looked so nervous.
"Now?" Harry whispered.
"No!" Hermione shook her head fervently. "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."
At that moment, there was the loud sound of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.
"That's when Hagrid dropped the jug," Tessa said. "Then I went to help him before Hermione found Pettigrew." Like what she said, there was the loud screech of surprise from Hermione inside the hut.
"Hermione," Harry said suddenly, "what if we — we just run in there and grab Pettigrew —"
"No!" Hermione exclaimed 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, think about it," Tessa tried to explain. "If you had burst in right now and saw yourself — what do you think your reaction would be?"
"I'd — I'd think I'd gone mad, or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on —"
"Exactly!" Hermione said with a firm nod. "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 before mumbling, "It was just an idea, I just thought —"
Hermione nudged them and pointed to the castle. Looking over, Tessa saw a group of people coming down the steps: Dumbledore, Fudge, the Committee member, and Macnair the executioner.
"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed out.
Tessa waited for a couple of seconds before Hagrid's back door opened and she watched herself, Ron, Hermione, and Harry walk out with Hagrid. She scrunched up her nose at the sight. "I can't believe nobody told me how ridiculous I look with my hair parted that way." She reached up and ruffled her hair, changing it back to its usual middle part.
Hermione and Harry both rolled their eyes at Tessa before continuing to watch themselves in the pumpkin patch.
"It's okay, Beaky, it's okay . . . ," Hagrid said to Buckbeak before turning to their other selves. "Go on. Get goin'."
"Hagrid, we can't —"
"We'll tell them what really happened —"
"They can't kill him —"
"I'll talk to Lucius Malfoy myself — "
"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"
Tessa watched the Hermione in the pumpkin patch throw the Invisibility Cloak over them.
"Go quick. Don' listen . . . ," was the last thing Hagrid told them before he headed back to his cabin where the group had arrived and was knocking on his door.
Tessa watched the way the grass flattened beneath the invisible weight from under the Cloak until she was certain they had gone. She averted her attention back to Hagrid's house and what they were talking about inside.
"Where is the beast?" came the voice of Macnair.
"Out — outside," Hagrid croaked.
Harry pushed Tessa's head out of the way as Macnair looked out Hagrid's window at Buckbeak.
They heard Fudge clear his throat and say, "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 — "
As Macnair disappeared from the window, they knew it was time to make a move.
"Wait here," Harry whispered to them. "I'll do it."
Tessa watched anxiously as Harry took off running and approached Buckbeak after vaulting the fence. Fudge was still talking inside, "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—"
Harry was bowing to the Hippogriff who had weakly bowed back before he reached for the rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.
" . . . sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair . . . "
Tessa bit her lip as Hermione gripped her hand. Harry was trying to yank on Buckbeak's rope, but the creature wouldn't budge.
" . . . as witnessed below. Hagrid, you sign here . . . "
Before she could change her mind, Tessa darted forward and approached the two. She kept her eyes on Buckbeak as she lowered herself to a bow as well. Upon seeing him bow back, she swiftly reached over and tried to help Harry tug on the rope.
"Well, let's get this over with," came the voice of the Committee member. "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 —"
"Buckbeak, move!" Tessa hissed, panting slightly as she pulled with all her might. Finally, the Hippogriff began to walk as he bristled his wings as though irritated with them.
"One moment, please, Macnair," Dumbledore suddenly said. "You need to sign too." Tessa smiled faintly — it was as though Dumbledore already knew what they were doing.
Harry yanked the rope harder but Buckbeak was still trudging in a slow pace. Tessa glanced around for help until her eyes landed on something familiar. She ran over and picked up the string of dead ferrets tied on it. She went a few feet in front of Buckbeak, luring him with the animal. "Buckbeak, look!" she whispered and caught his attention. "I have a ferret for you — come get!"
The Hippogriff straightened and started to walk faster in order to approach Tessa.
She nodded at him encouragingly. "Yes, that's right. I know you want it!" She went on until Harry was able to pull Buckbeak behind the tree and out of sight.
They all let out a huge sigh of relief as Tessa fed the ferret to Buckbeak. She chuckled, watching him eat up all the ferrets. She kind of missed calling him a ferret devil . . .
Tessa's train of thoughts were broken as Hagrid's door opened with a bang. "Where is it?" the Committee member was shouting. "Where is the beast?"
"It was tied here!" Macnair replied furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"
"How extraordinary," Dumbledore said with the unmistakable hint of amusement in his voice.
"Beaky!" Hagrid called out.
Out of anger, Macnair swung his axe to the fence as Hagrid bowled out sobbing. "Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"
Buckbeak started to strain against the rope as the three of them tried their best to keep him still.
"Someone untied him!" Macnair growled. "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?" Dumbledore hummed. "Search the skies, if you will . . . Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."
"O' — o' course, Professor," Hagrid stammered. "Come in, come in . . . "
"At this point," Tessa wheezed as she kept a tight hold on Buckbeak. "I'm certain that Dumbledore knows absolutely everything."
They continued to stay hidden until the door was shut firmly and silence ensued. "Now what?" Harry whispered.
"We'll have to hide in here," Hermione said. "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 . . . "
The sun was already setting now as Tessa glanced up at the horizon.
"We're going to have to move," Harry said.
Tessa nodded in agreement. "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."
"Okay," Hermione finally said. "But we've got to keep out of sight, remember . . . "
As best as they could while tugging on a Hippogriff, the three walked through the forest to where the tree was. Dark was starting fall around them, and Tessa was being careful not to trip over any roots.
"There's Ron!" Harry said suddenly.
Tessa looked to see the redhead running across the lawn and shouting, "Get away from him — get away — Scabbers, come here —"
Behind him followed three more figures as she watched their own selves chase after Ron until he dove to the ground. "Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat —"
Tessa watched herself fall and stumble over Ron and she winced. "That was painful," she mumbled as she watched the Harry over there help her up.
"There's Sirius!" Harry said as they watched the bearlike dog bounding over to them. Sirius leaped and landed on all of them, knocking them over as he clamped his jaw over Ron's arm and pull him away. "Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" Harry mumbled.
"Ouch — look," Hermione pointed. "Tessa and I just got walloped by the tree — and so did you — this is weird —"
The tree suddenly froze as Tessa watched herself run down the lawn before the three of them disappeared into the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack. Seconds later, they heard footsteps and looked to see Dumbledore and his group walking up the castle steps.
"Right after we'd gone down into the passage!" Hermione said. "If only Dumbledore had come with us . . . "
"Macnair and Fudge would've come too," Harry said with a grumble.
Tessa snorted and added, "I bet you Macnair would've chased after Sirius with his axe."
A few minutes later, another familiar figure came sprinting down the castle steps and toward the Willow. "Here comes Lupin!" Harry said as they watched the Professor immobilize the tree before disappearing inside as well.
"If he'd only grabbed the cloak," Harry said wistfully. "It's just lying there . . . " he trailed off and glanced up at 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!"
"I can do it," Tessa said. "I'm a fast runner."
Hermione shook her head. "Absolutely no way!"
"How can you stand this?" Harry asked Hermione fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen? I'm going to grab the cloak!"
"Harry, no!" Hermione grabbed Harry's robes and yanked him backwards just in time for Hagrid to start walking up to the castle, singing at the top of his lungs. There was a large bottle in his hands as he swung it around.
"See?" Hermione whispered to them. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"
At the sight of Hagrid, the Hippogriff began to jerk around in an attempt to return to Hagrid. They held him tight until Hagrid finally disappeared inside the castle and Buckbeak stopped struggling in their hands. It was barely even a minute that had passed when the doors burst open again as Snape went running out and to the Willow.
"Curse him and his vision," Tessa muttered as she watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree and grab the cloak.
"Get your filthy hands off it," Harry snarled under his breath as they watched Snape put on the Cloak before disappearing as well inside the tree.
"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 tied the end of Buckbeak's rope around the tree before plopping down on the ground. "There's something I don't understand," she said as Tessa sat on the ground next to Hermione. "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 sat down and explained about seeing a Patronus amidst the attack of the Dementors — two large silver animals. Tessa bit her lip as she remembered what she'd seen as well.
Hermione's mouth was slightly open by the time Harry had finished. "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? Didn't you see what they looked like? Was it one of the teachers?"
"No. He wasn't a teacher."
"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," Harry said slowly, making Tessa cut her eyes to him. "But . . . maybe I imagined it . . . I wasn't thinking straight . . . I passed out right afterward . . . "
"Who did you think it was?"
"I think," Harry said under his breath as he swallowed hard. "I think it was my dad."
Hermione looked rather alarmed as she quietly said with pity. "Harry, your dad's — well — dead."
"I know that."
"You think you saw his ghost?"
"I don't know . . . no . . . he looked solid . . . "
"But then —"
"Maybe I was seeing things," Harry mumbled. "But . . . from what I could see . . . it looked like him . . . I've got photos of him . . . " Harry looked away from Hermione's judging eyes. "I know it sounds crazy."
"Actually," Tessa piped up in a soft voice as she played with the hem of her jeans. "It's not crazy. Because — because I saw my mum too."
Hermione looked even more worried once she realized she now had two insane best friends. "Tessa, that's impossible — "
"No, wait — please. Let me finish first," she said as she swallowed roughly. "I saw two things that night — well, tonight technically. I saw the Patronus as well, it was a feline. I can't tell from afar, but considering my mother's Marauder nickname was Cat Queen, that Patronus was surely hers. And secondly — we all saw that tiger attack Remus."
Hermione scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, that caught me off guard. There are no tigers in here — at least none in Hogwarts grounds. I can't say for certain of the Forbidden Forest, but . . . that was strange."
Tessa shook her head to herself. "I don't know — there was something about the tiger that made me feel . . . a sense of connection. As though being next to it felt as though we belonged to one another. It had come from behind me when I tried distracting Remus. From there . . . ," Tessa trailed off as she slid her eyes over to the Whomping Willow where she now saw Remus, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering out of the base of tree. Followed by Hermione, a floating Snape, Harry and Sirius talking, and finally Tessa.
Any moment now, the cloud was going to shift and reveal the moon.
Hermione muttered, "We've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do . . . "
"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again . . . ," Harry muttered disappointedly.
"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!"
Tessa continued to watch as their double selves began to walk away from the tree as she waited for any sign of the tiger prowling the forest behind. She gnawed in her bottom lip nervously before she blurted out, "I need to do something — I'll be right back."
"Tessa, no!" Hermione tried to yank her backward, but Tessa had narrowly missed her hand and shot forward running through the trees. She continued to run as swift as she could in order to make it in time before the Willow began to move again.
She slipped inside the base of the tree, stopping for a minute to catch her breath before she started sprinting deeper inside to the Shrieking Shack. Entering the place, she raced up the stairs and to the room where the furniture had been smashed by Remus as a teenager. She scanned the room, slowly pacing to make sure she didn't miss any detail.
"Ow, shit," she hissed as she nearly tripped over a piece of panel on the floorboard sticking out. Tessa frowned for a moment before getting on her knees and pulled out the board. She coughed at the dust that left the floor before she caught sight of a dilapidated, wooden box inside.
Tessa picked it up, sneezing as the cloud of dust reached her nose. There was no lock, allowing Tessa to take the lid off with ease. Inside lay the strangest things she's ever seen combined in a single box that took out piece by piece. There was a Gryffindor scarf, and Tessa could tell it was old and overused; a silver bracelet similar to hers, except the charms were a dog with a silver eye, a tiger with a green eye, and a heart in between; there was a Snitch that barely came to life and weakly beat its wings; two rings (one was gold with the engraving 'Potter's', and the other was a thin silver band with the letters 'C.I.P.'); and two dusty, worn down books.
Tessa flickered through the first book, finding it to be some pronunciation guide for Old English. "How strange," she murmured to herself before setting it down and picking up the second book. "What the bloody hell is this?" Skimming inside, Tessa realized it was some sort of spell book in a language she could tell was Old English.
All of a sudden, the book gave an odd, humming sensation that she felt through her fingers. Yelping in surprise, Tessa dropped the book as she watched it hit the ground and as though touched by magic, combed through the pages before settling on one. She peered over to see that it was some sort of Awakening Spell.
Tessa scrunched her nose before letting her eyes flit across the page. She mouthed the words to herself, curiosity getting the best of her before she took a quick peek into the pronunciation guide. Clearing her throat, she tried it out loud, "Id est ácwice. Id est non qui slæpest bebíede þæt Þú! Brimstréam."
She waited. For a moment, nothing happened except for the whispers of the wind that floated around her. Then without any warning — light exploded around her, forcing Tessa to fall backwards with shut eyes. There was a deafening roar that echoed throughout the Shack, and Tessa scrambled on her feet.
There was no tiger in sight — nothing except for the golden light that gathered together to form a small whirlwind atop a certain part of the floor. Another earth-shattering roar and fire sparked from where the whirlwind spun on. Tessa gasped in surprise as she watched the fire grow larger. She turned on her heel and sprinted out of the Shack, down the tunnel, and burst out of the Whomping Willow.
The Willow wasn't even immobilized, but she had been too terrified of what she might have awakened, that her adrenaline helped her avoid the swinging branches. Tessa stumbled into the safety of the trees, heaving and panting loudly to catch her breath as she looked out into the clearing.
The loud screams from her other self made her see that the cloud had just shifted to reveal the moon, and Remus and Sirius were locked in jaws. She continued to watch as Sirius fell to the ground in defeat, bleeding heavily into the grass as her other self attempted to catch the attention of the werewolf.
A streak of silver caught Tessa's eye and she whipped her head to see a magnificent silver tiger stealthily prowl out of the Whomping Willow after pressing its paw against the knot. She covered her mouth to keep from gasping in awe as she watched the hulking beast walk threateningly up the small hill before it burst into speed. The tiger roared familiarly before leaping into Remus, tackling him to the ground and saving Tessa's other self from being mauled to death.
A movement caught her eye again, and Tessa saw Harry and Hermione running with Buckbeak to the direction of Hagrid's house. She sprinted over to them, nearly stumbling as she reached alongside them.
Hermione turned in fright. "Tessa, what were you thinking?! You could've been seen!"
Harry gripped her wrist. "Are you okay? What happened? What did you do?"
Tessa was still wheezing, terribly out of breath. "I'm fine, don't worry about it. I just had to save myself from being mauled by Remus."
They had confused looks on their faces but didn't question her as they barricaded themselves inside Hagrid's house. Tessa collapsed into the couch, stretching her sore legs as Buckbeak lounged in front of the fire and folded his wings contentedly. Harry went over to look out of the window. "I think I'd better go outside again, you know. I can't see what's going on — we won't know when it's time —"
Hermione looked suspicious and wanted to say otherwise.
"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?"
"Well . . . okay, then . . . I'll wait here with Buckbeak and Tessa — "
"Actually, I need Tessa to come with me," Harry blurted out, sending a look to the girl with a very subtle jerk of his chin to the door.
She groaned in pain but pushed herself to stand up. "Yeah, I'll need to make sure Harry doesn't do anything."
This seemed to be alright with Hermione because she nodded. "Okay, be careful — there's a werewolf and a tiger out there — and the Dementors."
Harry and Tessa slipped out of the house to hear a familiar yelling just in time. "It's Sirius," Tessa murmured as they walked to the direction of the lake, making sure to stay hidden by the trees. "I don't see anybody," she mumbled in disappointment.
"My father was supposed to be here to help us," Harry added, nodding to where they could see themselves attempting to fend off the Dementors with their pathetic excuse of a Patronus wisp. "Your mum too, like you said."
They continued to watch in horrified silence for a few more minutes, watching themselves slowly fall to the ground.
"Come on!" Harry muttered. "Where are you? Dad, come on —" he froze before spinning to Tessa with large eyes. "It wasn't my dad! Tessa, we didn't see our parents, we saw ourselves!"
Tessa furrowed her eyebrows. "Harry, what are you — "
Before she could finish her question, Harry moved in front of the bank of the lake, pulled out his wand and yelled at the top of his lungs, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Out of his wand burst a magnificent silver stag that made Tessa gasp in surprise.
Pulling her wand out as well, Tessa inhaled deeply and shut her eyes tight. There was an odd sort of calmness that enveloped her body, and it wasn't until she yelled out the spell did she realize she had envisioned not just her family — but her best friends sharing laughter with her . . . and the times she'd spend with Draco Malfoy.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
Bursting from the tip of her wand was something Tessa didn't quite expect. She'd thought it would be a tiger, but it was actually a gorgeous panther that stealthily sprinted out onto the lake.
"Wow," Tessa breathed out as she shared similar incredulous looks with Harry.
Tessa watched her Patronus bound forward and drive away the Dementors with a silent roar. Together, the panther and stag returned back to their respective owners — slowly bowing their silver heads to them.
"Prongs," Harry whispered, reaching over to graze his fingertips on its antlers before both Patronuses vanished like mist.
Tessa stood there for a moment, tears brimming her eyes as she felt her heart clench tightly in her chest. She's always wanted to know her mother all her life — but this time, she actually felt a connection. A strong tether to her that made her greedy and wanting for more. She dropped her gaze to her outstretched hand before freezing.
"It — It's gone," she breathed out. "Harry, look — " she practically shoved her wrist out for the boy to see. "My scar! My lightning scar — it's gone." Tessa ran her fingertips delicately across the skin where she once used her charm bracelet to cover the jagged, white line. "I didn't even notice when and how . . . "
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the loud clattering of hooves behind them. They whirled around to see Hermione furiously rushing to them with Buckbeak right behind her. "What did you two do? You said you were only going to keep a lookout!"
"Tessa and I just saved all our lives . . . ," Harry said. "Get behind here behind this bush — I'll explain."
Tessa took Buckbeak's rope from Hermione as the latter sat behind a bush to listen to everything Harry was saying.
"Did anyone see you?" she asked once Harry finished.
"Yes, haven't you been listening? Tessa and I saw ourselves but we thought it was my dad and her mum! It's okay!"
"Wow," Hermione breathed out. "I can't believe it . . . You two conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those Dementors! That's very, very advanced magic."
Tessa was half-listening, still focused on the inner flesh of her wrist that was void of the blemish she'd had all her life.
"We knew we could do it this time," Harry said sheepishly, "because we'd already done it . . . Does that make sense?"
"I don't know — Harry, look at Snape!"
Tessa was snapped out of her reverie as she look around the bush to see that Snape had regained consciousness and was conjuring stretchers to lift all their unmoving forms. He waved his wand and marched his way back to the castle, all four stretchers bobbing in the air after him.
"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 into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing . . . "
They waited for a couple more minutes as Tessa watched Buckbeak paw the ground for worms to eat. She shut her eyes for a moment, letting the wind ruffle her hair as she silently thought about the tiger she'd awoken. What the hell was that, anyways?
"Do you reckon he's up there yet?" Harry broke the silence as Tessa opened her eyes and glanced up the Tower.
"Look!" Tessa whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"
Harry and Hermione squinted through the darkness as they all watched a man hurrying across the grounds toward the castle entrances. "Macnair!" Harry said in realization. "The executioner! He's gone to get the Dementors! This is it, Hermione —"
Harry and Tessa gave Hermione a boost to climb up Buckbeak before Tessa climbed up as the rear to make sure nobody falls off. Harry went in front, holding the rope around Buckbeak tightly.
"Ready?" he called out to Tessa who flashed him a thumbs up. "You'd better hold on to me," Harry muttered to Hermione before he nudged Buckbeak at his sides.
In a second, they were soaring into the sky as Buckbeak's wings flared widely. Tessa was keeping Hermione steady, making sure she doesn't fall as the latter murmured, "Oh, no — I don't like this oh, I really don't like this —"
Harry guided Buckbeak quietly toward the upper floors of the castle as Tessa began to count the windows of the Tower. "He's there!" Tessa shouted through the loud flapping of the Hippogriff's wings as she pointed out.
Harry gave a tug on the rope as Buckbeak swooped over to level himself in front of the window where Sirius was held in. Tessa rapped on the glass to get his attention as he hurriedly ran over to try and open the window, but it was locked.
"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand. "Alohomora!"
The window unlocked as Sirius looked out to them with wide eyes. "How — how —?"
"Get on — there's not much time," Harry said. "You've got to get out of here — the Dementors are coming — Macnair's gone to get them."
Tessa scooted forward closer to Hermione as Sirius pushed himself out of the window. He was so thin that he luckily managed to squeeze himself out and over Buckbeak.
Sirius's bony fingers held onto Tessa's shoulders as Harry gave a tug. "Okay, Buckbeak, to the clearing over there!"
Buckbeak gave an amused sort of snort before he spread his wings and they were soaring again. Tessa looked behind her to give Sirius a comforting smile as Buckbeak flew past the castles and landed on the small clearing hidden by the trees.
"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry said as the three Gryffindor teens hopped down. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."
"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" Sirius croaked as he took the ropes from Harry.
"He's going to be okay," Tessa assured him. "He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick — go —"
Sirius was still hesitating as he looked over them. "How can I ever thank —"
"GO!" Harry, Tessa, and Hermione shouted together.
Sirius gave them a smile, adjusting himself on Buckbeak as he said, "We'll see each other again." He turned around, ready to fly off until —
"James?"
The soft voice coming from behind them all made Tessa freeze as she saw the way every single fiber in Sirius's body go taut. There was a slight ringing in her ears as Tessa, painfully slowly, turned around to see the woman that stood in front of her. A broken gasp left Tessa as she took the sight in.
There before her stood Catherine Valentine — looking exactly as how Tessa expected her to be, and yet not quite so. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a dirty white button-down, barefoot in the grass. She looked disheveled, her blue-black hair ruffled with patches of dirt on her skin and dried blood on her split lip. Her eyes — the jade green eyes that Tessa would see in photographs — still shone as brightly as before, yet haunted with sorrow of loss. Catherine Valentine had aged to her rightful thirty-three, yet the smooth planes of her face made her look mid-twenties. She was still beautiful.
"Cat," Tessa heard Sirius breath out as he slid off of Buckbeak.
Tessa didn't move — she couldn't when her knees had locked up. Catherine couldn't see Tessa from where she stood behind Hermione, her eyes were fixed on Harry as she stumbled forward to him. "James," she softly cried out, tears slipping down her cheeks as she approached the boy. "Is — Is that you?"
Harry was dumbstruck — his eyes were wide and his mouth hanging open as he looked to Tessa incredulously.
"I'm sorry," Catherine was saying through her choked sobs, holding Harry 's shoulders as she shook with every breath. "I'm so sorry."
Harry coughed awkwardly and patted Catherine's arm. "Er — Miss Valentine — "
Catherine slowly pulled away, holding Harry at arm's length as she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She searched his face for a moment before her eyes cleared, realization dawning on her. "Lily's eyes," she whispered as she tugged him into another hug. "Harry," she said, sobbing even harder.
There was a buzzing sensation filling Tessa as her voice cracked, "M — Mum?" As though saying it out loud felt real, her eyes suddenly stung with unshed tears. She watched her mother let go of Harry and swivel around to face Tessa who moved away from behind Hermione. She watched the way her face crumpled as Catherine cried once more and pull Tessa into her arms.
All at once — Tessa watched her become a mother all over again.
Tessa couldn't comprehend what she was saying, nor what Catherine was blubbering through her tears. They were both a crying mess — embracing each other in a suffocating hold as Catherine repeatedly stroked her hair — the way a mother would. Tessa wouldn't stop bawling in her mother's arms, eventually allowing her legs to give out on her as the two women fell on their knees.
Sniffling, Catherine pulled away to hold Tessa at arm's length. "Let me look at you," she croaked out with a soft laugh. She cupped Tessa's cheeks and used the pads of her thumb to wipe away the continuing flow of tears. "You're so beautiful," Catherine whispered breathlessly. "I'm so sorry for selfishly leaving you behind, Tessie."
Tessa was shaking her head fervently. "No, please don't apologize."
Catherine pulled her closer to press her trembling lips against her forehead. "I love you so much, my Tessie."
Tessa pulled back again as she held her mother's hands in hers. "Mum, there's someone you should see." She looked to the side where Sirius was and saw him stagger forward to her with wide eyes full of disbelief.
"Cat?" Sirius said hoarsely, taking another step closer before he, too, fell on his knees. And for the first time in Tessa's life, she saw a grown man break down and cry without restraint. "I thought — " he broke off as Catherine leaned over and embraced Sirius tightly.
"Siri," she said shakily. "I miss you." She pulled away to look at his face with a trembling pout, reaching up to wipe her tears away.
Sirius was laughing softly to himself. "Cat, you have no idea how much I'm trying to convince myself I'm not insane right now. Please — tell me this is real."
Catherine reached up to hold his cheek with a delicate palm. "I'm real," she said and pressed her other hand over his heart. "You can feel me just as much as I can feel you."
Sirius screwed his eyes shut and leaned forward to touch his forehead against hers. "You're real," he kept mumbling over and over again before his eyes flew open. "James," he blurted out. "Cat, I need to tell you something."
She shook her head. "Don't worry — I can talk to Dumbledore about that." She turned to look directly at Tessa as she smiled sweetly. "And I think I need to talk to you about it as well."
Sirius suddenly grabbed onto Catherine's hands. "Come with me," he said and tugged her to her feet. "Come away with me. I'll tell you everything you need to know, but please — come with me so I'll know I didn't imagine the whole thing."
Gently, Catherine shook her head and said softly, "Siri, I can't. I have Tessie. Aside from you, she's everything I have. I left her once, and I'm not doing that again." She stood on her tiptoes to wrap him in an embrace again. "Both Tessa and Harry — I'm not letting them go. I'm sorry."
Sirius was quiet for a second before he held her tight to him. "I'll see you again — I promise." He pressed a chaste kiss against her cheek before stepping backwards and climbing back onto Buckbeak. "Take good care of them, Cat." That was the last thing Sirius said before waving at them once more and soaring into the sky with Buckbeak.
Tessa turned to share a look with a befuddled Harry and Hermione before facing her mother again. Catherine smiled at them, wrapping an arm around Tessa as she slowly led them back to the castle. "Come on — I have a lot of explaining to give and receive — oh, how rude of me — nice to meet you, I'm Catherine Potter!" She reached a hand out to Hermione.
"N — Nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter. I'm Hermione," she stammered and shakily shook Catherine's hand.
Tessa smiled at their exchanges before halting on her feet. "Wait a second — did you just say Catherine Potter?"
A/N
FIRST OF ALL — IF YOURE HAPPY THAT CATHERINE IS FINALLY ALIVE AND REUNITED WITH TESSA AND SIRIUS SAY 'AYE'
SECOND — idk why but it makes me emotional when I thought about the scene where Cathy breaks down crying in front of Harry when she sees him for the first time. It made me even sadder to actually write it down pls I'm not crying you are
THIRD — OKAY OMG I have been ITCHING to write the scene between Theo and Draco where they talk about Tessa and she's just all "LOL THIS IS SUM GOOD TEA — MY PAL DRACO HAS A CRUSH"
FOURTH — if anyone is wondering why I chose to give Tessa a black panther as her patronus, it will be explained in goblet of fire!
FIFTH — I asked this in my Message Board, but I suppose it gets a better audience here! Forum time: who do you think/want Tessa to go to the Yule Ball with and why? (Lengthy discussions are very much welcomed and appreciated hehe)