The day was dark. The dark clouds covered the skies, the wind chilly, and the presence of the executioner sharpening the ax gave the mental image of death that was about to happen. Carina felt like it was all orchestrated to add more gloom or maybe the weather was sympathetic to what's about to happen. Carina sighed as she followed after Hermione, she has more in her mind right now, especially after her meeting with Remus. The man's random questions clouded her mind, and when she tried to ask him about it, he would simply change the topic or say he was busy at the moment.
"Any reason why Roman's not here?" Harry asked.
"Remember the last couple of times we talked about quartering, dissecting, and chopping off heads? Or your boneless arm? Carina began.
"Oh," Harry realized.
"Yeah, he thought it'd be best to come along since we might be carrying him back to the castle and to be honest, Roman's way heavier than you all think."
"I can't believe they're going to kill Buckbeak, it's too horrible!" Hermione said.
"It just got worse," Harry sighed.
Down the hill, they saw Malfoy with Crabbe and Goyle hiding behind the huge pillar-rocks as they looked down, laughing at Hagrid and Buckbeak. Malfoy did not fail to boast and infuriate the group as he boasts the sentence his father asked for Buckbeak.
"Did you see the big, fat oaf?! Oh, this is going to be rich. Did I tell you, Father said I can keep the head –" Malfoy said. He then turned and found Harry and the others, his smirk grew. "Ah, come to see the show?"
Hermione marched down towards Malfoy with the scariest glare she had, "You foul – loathsome – evil – little cockroach!" Malfoy stumbled back against the rock, cross-eyed with fear as Hermione jabbed the tip of her wand under his nose.
"HERMIONE, NO!" Ron called after her. "It's not worth it!"
"I don't know, it kinda is," Carina whispered to Harry, "And, it just might even out Malfoy's face."
Harry chuckled beside her, "I have to say, what you did to his face is just brilliant."
"Too bad you weren't there to see me kick his bloody arse."
"Greatest regret in my life."
Hermione removed her wand from Malfoy's face and stepped back. Malfoy and his goons laughed –
SMACK!
Quick as lightning, Hermione punched Malfoy right at the jaw, putting him flat on his back. Stunned. He leaped to his feet and ran, Crabbe and Goyle huffing and puffing behind. Hermione turned back to Harry, Ron, and Carina with a smile.
"That felt good."
"Good? That was brilliant," Ron smiled.
"And that's just the beginning of it, Mione," Carina chuckled.
~*~
Hagrid stood by the window and watched Buckbeak, the man kept sniffling and wiping his tears as he looked at the hippogriff, once full of life now full of sadness as she knew of her fate. Carina and the others sat on one of the giant seats at Hagrid's hut, drinking the tea he served, but they all just poured it at the plants as it tasted bad.
"Look at 'em. Loves the smell o' the trees when the wind blows..." Hagrid sighed.
"I say we set him free," Harry said.
"It'll be easy!" Carina agreed, "We cut the rope, then we can transfigure one of those pumpkins to Buckbeak, and they'll think it's him!"
"By any chance do you know the spell to transfigure a pumpkin to a hippogriff?" Ron asked.
"I'm sure Hagrid has a book about it," Carina fidgeted.
"Thought so."
"They'd know I did it," Hagrid said, "And tha' would only get Dumbledore in trouble. Gonna come down, yeh know. Say he wants ter be with me when it... when it happens. Great man, Dumbledore."
"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid," Hermione said.
"Yeh will not! Thank I wan' yeh seein' a thing like this! No," Hagrid turned in a snap at Hermione, "Yeh'll drink yer tea an' be off. Oh, Ron..." Hagrid took something from behind and turned back with a rat in his hands.
"Scabbers!" Ron gleefully took Scabbers from Hagrid's hands.
"Yeh should keep a closer eye on yer pets, Ron," Hagrid told him.
Hermione cleared her throat, her arms crossed over her chest "I think you owe someone an apology."
"Right. Next time I see Crookshanks, I'll let him know." Ron said.
"I meant me – "
The pot that held some grains shattered. Hermione scooped a jagged star-shaped stone, a second stone bounced off the back of Harry's head.
"Ow!" Harry winced and he rubbed the back of his head. Harry turned to find who threw it, but instead of the person who threw the rock, Harry saw Dumbledore, Fudge and the Executioner walking towards the hut.
"Hagrid," Harry called.
Hagrid saw the approaching Minister and Headmaster and panicked, "Yeh got to go! It's almost dark. Anyone sees yeh outside the castle it'll be trouble! Big trouble!" He then turned to Harry and Carina, "'Specially you two –"
A loud bang came from the door.
"Come on!" Harry pulled Carina and led them all at the back door.
The four exited through the back door— just in time as Dumbledore, Fudge and the Executioner entered through the front door. – they hid behind the mountains of pumpkins and watched as Hagrid solemnly greeted the others. The branches of the trees behind them moved. Carina snapped her head towards the direction of the sound.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Nothing, I just thought I saw..." Carina trailed off.
The four slipped silently into a stand of trees, up the hill. Beyond them, they saw as the Executioner walked towards Buckbeak, Harry, Carina, Hermione, and Ron stood and watched as the Executioner raised its ax and –
CHOP!
Harry and Ron stared towards the trees in numb belief while Carina and Hermione held each other as they looked away. The sun has set behind the mountains in the distance. Hermione turned and saw a frenzied spray of crows stain the sky. One crow, in particular, made a different route from the others and went in the Whomping Willow's direction.
"AH!" Ron shrieked, "He bit me! Scabbers!"
Ron ran after Scabbers.
"RON! NO!" Hermione called out.
They all ran after Ron, but then stopped when they saw Ron under the tree.
"Harry. You do realize what tree is that!" Carina pointed.
"That's not good!" Harry said, "RON! RUN!"
Ron looked at Harry, but his gaze was fixed at the thing behind them.
"HARRY! RUN! IT'S THE GRIM! IT'S THE GRIM!" Ron cried.
Carina turned and saw the huge black dog that stood behind them. She knew the black dog from her Uncle Tom's stories about her father, and she knew that the black dog would kill them. The Grim ran towards Ron, its teeth bit him at the foot and then dragged him into the Whomping Willow.
"RON!" Carina called out and ran after him. They followed him to the tree, but stopped when he was dragged into the hole of the Whomping Willow. One of the branches of the Whomping Willow threw them away. Carina and the other gasped for air the moment they landed on the ground.
Harry quickly got them to their feet and led them to the tree.
"LOOK OUT!"
Dodging the lashing branches. They fought their way through to get to the hole. Hermione managed to grab hold of one of the swinging branches and found herself being lashed around. And when she passed Harry, she grabbed him by the shirt and threw him inside.
"HERMIONE! HARRY!" Carina called out to her. She ran towards the tree's base, dodging branches when she can, and just as she was close, she slid down on the dirt and managed to get inside. Inside, she found Harry, dusting his pants. "Where's Hermione –"
Hermione was thrown inside and she landed on them. Groaning in pain, the three third-years got on their feet and followed the sound of Ron's whimpering. They walked up the path that now turned to wood and up the wooden stairs.
"We're in the Shrieking Shack, aren't we?" Hermione said.
Harry and Carina did not answer, they stared at the dog prints in the dust on the floor. The ceiling cracks and they dashed towards the stairs. They looked down and saw a stripe that cut through the dust-laden floor.
"It's Ron," Carina muttered then ran up the stairs. She ignored her friend's call and burst into the room.
"RON!" She called.
"You're okay!" Hermione said, who caught up behind her with Harry.
"The dog – where's the dog?" Harry asked.
"IT'S A TRAP! HARRY! HE'S THE DOG! HE'S AN ANIMAGUS!" Ron cried.
Harry followed the trail of dog prints and where it stopped before a man that stood in the shadows, filthy, matted hair hung to his shoulders, and his skin corpse-like.
Sirius Black.
Carina felt her heart drop at the sight of Black, he looked much scarier in person than the one in the photos or her Boggart. His gray eyes studied their faces keenly, and when his eyes stopped at her, she felt the fear once again. All of the things Theodore told her was thrown out of the window as she now faced her greatest fear in the actual flesh. Black approached her with a smile, he reached his hand towards her face. Carina wanted to move, but her feet her glued to the ground. Her legs trembling. But before Black could touch her, she was pulled back by Hermione – she and Harry – and were being protected by her.
"If you want to kill them, you'll have to kill us too!" Hermione said.
"No," Black finally spoke, "Only one will die tonight!"
"Why's that?" Harry spat, "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew, after killing your wife... what's the matter? Gone soft after Azkaban?"
"Harry be quiet!" Hermione whimpered.
"NO!" Carina got out of Hermione's grip. "HE KILLED MY MOTHER, AND HE KILLED HARRY'S PARENTS!"
Harry lunged at Black, he had the man on the ground, and wand on point. Carina, Hermione, and Ron were in shock at his actions. Has he forgotten that he was just a scrawny-thirteen-year-old and Black was a full-grown man? Because they hadn't.
"Are you going to kill me, Harry?" He whispered.
"You killed my parents," Harry sneered, "And Carina's mother."
"I don't deny it," Black said quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."
"The whole story?! You sold them Voldemort. That's all I need to know!"
"You've got to listen to me!" Black eyes went to Carina. "Carina – please, you must listen to me, or you will regret it if you don't... you both don't understand..."
"I understand a lot better than you think," Harry said. "You never heard her, did you? You never heard them? Their screams! You did it! You did it!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry's wand flew out of his hand and to Remus'. Harry was then pulled back by Hermione from Black, all in shock at the man's presence.
"Professor Lupin," Harry stared at the man, just like the others.
"Looking a bit ragged, aren't we, Sirius?" Remus said, his hand still pointed at Black. "Finally the skin reflects the madness within..."
"You'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?" Black said back.
The two regarded each other. Remus then stepped forward and helped the man to his feet and brought him to an embrace like brothers. Carina and the others stared at the two men in shock, how could them – how could Remus?! Her hand reached to her necklace, the one he has given her. Was it an instrument that he used to let Black know about them?
"Where is he, Sirius?" Remus asked Black in a whisper.
"How did you?" Black asked.
"Vivian visited my office."
Vivian. Carina remembered that name, she knew that name. Vivian Solomon. The witch she met years ago, the witch that opened her eyes to the truth of her past. The witch who's words haunted her every night, you have your father's eyes.
"He's here, he's here, let's kill him," Black said.
"NO!" Carina cried out. She glared at Remus. "How could you! I trusted you!"
"Carina, let me explain –" Remus began but stopped when Carina pointed her wand at him.
"So it was all just a lie then – all those talks, all those things you said to me – none of it was real – you were just trying to use me so Black can get to Harry and me – is that it?!"
"Carina, please, you got it all wrong!"
Hermione stepped up and turned to Lupin, "I covered for you! And all this time, you've been his friend! He's a werewolf! That's why he's been missing classes!"
Carina's eyes widened after hearing Hermione. Her eyes turned to Hermione and Remus.
"How long have you known?" Remus asked.
"Since Professor Snape set the essay," Hermione replied.
"You truly are the cleverest witch in your age," Remus said.
"Yes, yes!" Black rolled his eyes. "You glow like the sun and you howl at the moon! ENOUGH TALK! HE DIES! NOW! IF YOU WON'T DO IT WITH ME, REMUS, I'LL DO IT ALONE!"
"No, Harry and Carina need to know the truth first!" Remus said.
"I DID MY WAITING!" Black's voice cracked. "TWELVE YEARS... IN AZKABAN! I WANT TO COMMIT THE MURDER I WAS IMPRISONED FOR! I WANT REVENGE FOR MY WIFE! I WANT MY DAUGHTER!"
Remus stared at Black in pity, though it was apparent for the children to know the truth, he held out his wand to Black.
"All right then, as you wish, but not a moment later... Harry and Carina need to know," Remus said.
"NO!" Harry stepped up. "You betrayed my parents! You sold them to Voldemort! You're the reason they're killed!"
"That's a lie!" Black said. "THAT'S A LIE, I NEVER BETRAYED JAMES AND LILY! AND I NEVER KILLED EMMANUELLE!" Black turned to his daughter, he saw her necklace, the topaz was now accompanied by a ring. "You of all people should know, Carina, you have the evidence – tell me, why would I murder a woman that I married?!"
"YOU'RE MAD, THAT'S WHY!" Carina yelled.
"Harry, Carina... you've got to listen –" Lupin began.
"DID HE LISTEN? WHEN MY MOTHER WAS DYING! DID HE HEAR HER SCREAMING?!" Carina said.
"NO! I WASN'T THERE! AND I'LL REGRET IT THE REST OF MY LIFE!" Black said.
"Someone else betrayed your parents, Harry. Someone in this room right now. Someone who, until quite recently, I believed to be dead," Remus said.
"He's good as dead!" Black spat.
"What're you talking about?" Harry asked, "There's nobody here!"
"Oh yes, there is..." Black said. He turned to Ron and crooned in cruel sing-song. "Come out, come out, Peter! Come out, come out and play!"
"You're mad!" Ron said to Sirius.
Harry's gaze shifted in Ron's direction to Scarbbers, who twisted violently in Ron's hands. A curious expression befell Harry, Lupin, and Black, as one raised their wands.
"Expelliarmus!"
Snape came, and the wands flew from the two men's hands. The others turned and found their Potions Professor standing in the doorway, smiling smugly.
"Ah... vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you..." Snape said.
"Severus –"
Snape pointed his wand at Lupin, stopping the man from continuing.
"I told Dumbledore you were helping your old friend into the castle. And here's the proof... Now I'll have the two of you..."
"Brilliant!" said Sirius, "And – as usual – dead wrong. Now give us our wands back. Remus and I have a bit of unfinished business to tend to."
Snape placed the tip of his wand at Sirius' neck. "Give me a reason. I beg you."
"Don't be a fool, Snape!" Lupin said.
"He can't help it! It's habit by now!" Sirius remarked.
"Quiet, Sirius!" Lupin called out
"Listen to you two. Quarreling like an old married couple. The creature and the criminal..."
"Piss off!" Sirius sneered.
"Witty as ever I see... tell me, will you be so irreverent when I turn you over the Dementors... do I detect a flicker of fear? One can only imagine what it must be like to endure the Dementor's Kiss. It's said to be unbearable to witness, but I'll do my best..." Snape then gestured to the door, "After you."
Harry took Carina's wand and aimed it at Snape. "Expelliarmus!"
Snape soared into the air, hit the wall with a thud, and slid down. Ron and Hermione stared in shock, while Carina tried to find her wand in her pants – also in shock.
"HARRY!" Ron exclaimed.
"You attacked a teacher!" Hermione gasped.
Harry ignored his friends' remarks and pointed Carina's wand at the three adults, "You said Peter before. Peter who?"
"Pettigrew. He was at school with us. we thought he was a friend!" Lupin explained.
"No. Pettigrew's dead! He killed him." Harry pointed at Sirius.
"I thought so, too. Until you mentioned seeing Pettigrew on the Map."
"The Map was lying then – "
"The Map never lies!" Sirius said, "Pettigrew's alive. And he's right there!" he pointed at Ron.
"Me?! You're a lunatic!" Ron said.
"Not you, you idiot! Your rat!"
"Scabbers? Scabber's been in my family for – "
"Twelve years!" Sirius said bitterly, "Curiously long life for a common garden rat. He's missing a toe, isn't he?"
"So what?" Ron asked.
"All they could find of Pettigrew was his..." Harry trailed off.
"Finger! Dirty coward cut it off, so everyone would think he was dead. Then he transformed into a rat."
Harry stared into Sirius' sunken eyes, wanting to believe – desperate to believe. He glanced at Ron and then Scabbers.
"Show me," Harry said.
Lupin and Black turned to Ron. Sirius took Scabbers from Ron.
"What are you doing to do to him?" Ron cried.
"Together." Sirius told Lupin.
They placed Scabbers on the piano, but the rat escaped their wands' aim and ran towards his escape. But before Scabbers could go through the hole, Lupin cast a spell and the rat had turned to lump man that got stuck in the hole. The two adults pulled the man from the hole and cornered him.
"S-Sirius... R-Remus... my old friends!" Pettigrew tried to escape once more but was pulled back. "Harry, look at you! You look just like your father – like James – we were the best of friends, he and I –" Pettigrew turned and saw Carina he went to her, begging on his knees. She might help him, a daughter would always soften her father's frozen heart. "Carina – I knew your mother, we were friends – she wouldn't want me dead!"
"SHUT UP!" Black grabbed Pettigrew and threw him back to the corner. "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU TALK TO HARRY AND CARINA! HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT EMMANUELLE! HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES AND LILY!"
"You sold Lily and James to The Dark Lord, just you sold Emmanuelle to Bellatrix Lestrange!" Remus said.
"I didn't mean to! The Dark Lord, you have no idea the weapons he possesses! Ask yourself what you would have done, Sirius, what would you have done!"
"DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY MY WIFE – DIED RATHER THAN BETRAYED MY FRIENDS! YOU SHOULD HAVE REALIZED, PETER, IF VOLDEMORT DIDN'T KILL YOU..."
"We would," Remus continued.
"No, please... you can't..." Pettigrew begged, he turned to Ron and begged on his knees. "Ron! Haven't I been a good pet? You won't let them kill me, will you? I was your rat!"
Ron drew back in disgust, "Gerroff me!"
Pettigrew then turned to Hermione and groveled on her feet, "Sweet girl, Clever girl... surely you won't let them –"
Carina reached for Hermione's wand, pulled Hermione back, and pointed it at Pettigrew, "Stay away from her, you sick bastard."
"Carina, please!" Pettigrew begged.
"Incarcerous!" Carina conjured ropes from her wand and tied up Pettigrew from head to toe. Her actions surprised everyone in the room, especially the three men. They were not expecting her to tie up Pettigrew. Carina tried to dig her brain for a spell, a spell that could end this, finally end this nightmare, but she can't remember it – no, she can't seem to find the guts to cast the spell. They all saw Carina's trembling hand and the tears that fell from her eyes.
Remus approached Carina and lowered her wand, "We'll take it from here, Carina."
"He deserves to die," Carina whispered.
"And he will," Sirius spoke, solemnly. "But not by your hands... he's not worth dirtying your hands for, Carina."
"No," Harry spoke.
Remus sighed, "Harry, this man..."
"I know what he is... but we'll take him to the castle."
"Bless you, boy! Bless you –" Pettigrew cried as he tried to crawl towards Harry.
"I said, we'd take you to the castle. After that, the Dementors can have you."
~*~
They exited the Shrieking Shack and followed after the path that led once more to the Whomping Willow. Sirius and Harry helped Ron with his leg, just behind them were Remus who had Pettigrew in the Incarcerous spell and was dragging the man along, leading them was Hermione and Carina, who lit the way.
"Sorry about the leg." Sirius told Ron. He then turned to his daughter and his godson, "Your father – James – even suggested to make the change permanent... I could have lived with the fur and the tail... but it's the flees... they're murder."
Carina chuckled at her father's words. Sirius turned to his daughter and saw her suddenly look away and her smile gone. She still didn't know how to act towards the man.
They walked out of the Whomping Willow, they brought Ron to sit by the rock as his leg was still injured. But just as they set him down Sirius walked towards the majestic view of Hogwarts castle, enchanted by its beauty. Carina followed after him, leaving Harry with their friends, she wanted to speak with this man, the man who plagued her day and night for the past seven years, the man who she thought would control her life. The man who she was so wrong about, and blamed for something he never did.
"I understand if you're still confused about how you feel about me." Sirius suddenly spoke. Carina walked closer to her father and stood beside him. Sirius smiled at his daughter's presence. "For twelve years... I've imagined what it would feel like when I would finally meet you... you would have thought that it would give me enough time to plan what to say to you... but it didn't..."
"It's alright," Carina said. "Sometimes, when you plan something for so long, it would always blow up in your face."
Sirius chuckled, faced his daughter, he looked down at her hands, he wanted to hold them but he didn't want to dirty them with his own, but it seems Carina noticed her father's hesitance and took his hands with hers. Not bothered by the dirt. She always feared those hands, she would even have nightmares of them, that one night they would come and take her from her family. But now, as she held those same hands that haunted her, she felt at ease. She felt lighter, much more peaceful.
"I love you Carina... and I dreamed of the day that we can finally go back home, and be a family." Sirius chuckled heartily, but then his laughter died when he remembered the Hill – the place that he and Emmanuelle made a home for Carina, where she could run around the fields and spend her summers playing with Harry... but that plan never happened – would never happen. It was now just a dream. Now, the hill was just a house full of haunting memories that brought sadness. Abandoned, and now said to be haunted by the ghosts of the past. The echoes of its horrid history, yet the beautiful history it held as well.
"Are you alright?" Carina asked.
Sirius sniffed and immediately got rid of the sad memories. "Of course! Of course!"
Carina pursed her lips. She didn't know what to do. "Are you going to stay?"
"I don't know..." Sirius shrugged, "We'll see... Why? Do you want me to?"
Carina smiled, "Yes. I would love you to stay with us."
"I don't think Tom would like to add another room in his house," Sirius smirked.
"He wouldn't mind," Carina smirked as well.
"If you want... I could turn in to a dog..." Sirius nudged his daughter with his elbow, " So there wouldn't be any renovating. Then we could play fetch, you could scratch me behind the ear, give me a bath..." Carina smiled. "I could even sleep in the same room as you, but in a little dog house."
Carina laughed softly. There was a pause.
"All my life, I cursed you, I feared you... but now, as I stand here with you, I want to go back in the past and tell myself how wrong I was..." Carina wiped away her tears. "I'm so sorry..."
"It's alright, love..." Sirius brought Carina to a and kissed her head. "It's alright, you didn't know – no one knew... and I would never blame you for something like that."
The sound of Harry's footsteps caught the father and daughter's attention. Sirius had his arm over Carina's shoulder, keeping her to his side, not wanting to let her go.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sirius said, his eyes on Hogwarts Castle, "I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors... it'll be nice to do it again. As a free man," He turned to Harry. "That was a noble thing you did back there. He doesn't deserve it."
Harry studied Pettigrew briefly then looked away.
"I don't reckon my father'd want his best friends to become killers." Harry turned to Carina, "I know I wouldn't... Besides: Dead, the truth dies with him. Alive... you're free."
Sirius studied Harry for a moment and then moved a little towards the boy. Carina smiled and simply held on to her father's hand.
"I don't know if you know, Harry, but when you were born, James and Lily made me your godfather," Sirius said.
"I know." Harry smiled. Harry turned to Carina with a smile, "Then that makes you like my sister."
"I thought we've established that a long time before you knew – I mean, we did abduct you last summer," Carina teased.
Sirius smiled. "And well... I'll understand if you choose to stay with your aunt and uncle, but, so you know you could – "
"Come live with you? When?!" Harry asked excitedly.
"Soon my name's cleared... but I think we'll be living with Tom for a while before we go looking for a house of our own." Sirius winked at his daughter.
"Can it still be close to Uncle Tom?" Carina asked.
"Of course, we can." Sirius nodded.
Carina turned to Harry with a smile, "No more cupboards, no more bad uncles and aunts, and no more bratty cousins."
"No more," Harry smiled.
"HARRY!"
They turned to Hermione and saw her pointing at the sky. Behind the clouds, the moon came out and showed its face. A full moon. Lupin's pupils dilated and his fingers started to twitch. Sirius ran to Lupin's side and tried to pull out his friend from the curse.
"Remus, old friend... did you take your potion tonight?" Sirius asked.
"RUN! ALL OF YOU. NOW!"
He turned back to his friend and wrapped his arms around Remus to stop him from attacking the children.
"You know the man you truly are, Remus. This flesh is only flesh! This heart is where you truly live! This heart here!" Sirius pounded on Lupin's chest.
Remus dropped his wand. Pettigrew leapt and took it for himself.
"No!" Carina yelled, "EXPELLIARMUS!"
Remus wand flew from Pettigrew's hand and he froze. He sent the children a hideous mocking smile then transforms into his rat form. Harry watched as the rat dart into the night. He was to run after Pettigrew but was stopped.
A howl pierced the air, and with a sharp tug, Remus tossed Black into the air, then turned to the children. Harry shielded his friends from the werewolf before them. But then Snape woke and found the werewolf before the children. He quickly got up and shielded the children.
"Out of the way!" Snape told the children.
The werewolf prepared to pounce. Just before the werewolf was to attack them, a giant black dog intercepts it in midair. They hit the ground in a fierce tangle of flashing teeth. Again, and again, the dog pushed the werewolf back, but the werewolf is too strong.
"SIRIUS!" Carina cried.
The dog yelped in pain, and the werewolf flung it into the tall grass as it charges after it. Harry pushed past Snape, dashed into the night. Hermione was about to follow, but Snape held her back. Distracted from Hermione's struggle to run after Harry, Carina slipped Snape as well to run after her father.
"BLACK! POTTER! COME BACK!" Snape called.
"HARRY! CARINA!" Hermione called out.
Harry and Carina saw the werewolf spy the dog that lay inert, the werewolf's razor-sharp claws suspended over its neck.
"NO!" Harry grabbed a thick branch from the ground and hurled it with all his might. The branch hit the werewolf. It froze. Turned. And began to move towards the two third-years. Harry got out his wand, terrified, but tormented as well, knowing Remus dwells somewhere within the beast.
"Please, Professor. Stop... it's us." Harry begged.
Suddenly, a howl pierces its head towards the forest. Harry waited, petrified. The werewolf's eyes shifted back to him. it snarled, moved closer, ready to kill. Harry enveloped Carina to an embrace, shielding her from the beast – a second howl echoed high above the forest. Slowly, Harry rose from his embrace on Carina, looked. The werewolf bounded towards the forest, vanished.
"He's gone." He told Carina.
Carina nodded – shaken. Her eyes shifted in the darkness, the wounded dog lurches through the tall grass. He fell, he tried to rise once more, but his body finally fell to the ground. The dog slowly started to change but continues to walk away.
"Come on." Harry took Carina's hand and led to run after Sirius.
They stumbled down to Sirius, who lay on the water's edge, now fully a man. Arms and face gleamed cuts.
"Sirius!" Harry called.
They sat down beside Sirius and checked his wounds and tried to wake him up.
"Sirius! Sirius!" Carina cried, she got out her wand, she tried to remember a spell to heal her father's wounds, but all she could think about was him slipping to his death.
"Sirius!"
A fragile mist escaped their mouths. A raw wind tossed their hair. Chill-bumps pebbled their skin. A fringe of ice appeared at the lake's edge. Then they appeared, oozed like smoke through the trees across the lake. They felt it, cold eerie feeling that haunted them, the emptiness. The Dementors.
"No... NO!" Harry drew out his wand, he helped Carina to her feet.
"What are we going to do, Harry?" Carina asked tears continuously fell. Everything she learned was gone as she stared into the dark-veiled creatures that circled around them.
"Think of the happiest memory you have and then say the incantation 'Expecto Patronum'," Harry hastily said, "Okay?"
Nodding, Carina stood and pointed her wand at the dementors. With trembling hands, she tried her hardest to think of the happiest memory she had. It shouldn't be hard as it was just recently she experienced the happiest thing that has happened in her life. But no matter how hard she tried, fear crept on her. Whenever a dementor passed them, performing a kiss on them, fear came. The dementors feasted on them, and eventually, Carina fell on the ground, unconscious.
"NO!" Harry cried out.
Sirius glanced at his daughter and saw her unconscious state, he tried to reach for her but his body was numb and cold. The dementors were sucking the life out of him. When they all gathered before him, he felt his life slipping away, just as his soul was sucked out of his body.
"No," Harry whimpered.
A bright light splintered the trees. Harry squinted and saw a fiery stag appear... its body luminous... slashing through the trees... sowing light in the darkness. The Dementors wilt in its wake, but more replaced them, swept down in waves. The light expanded and the remaining Dementors fled the area. Harry turned back to Sirius and saw the small ball of light come back down his body, and the man gasped. The stag slowly disappeared and deep in the trees, Harry studied the strangely familiar silhouette, then it is gone. Mist rose from the lake. As Snape appeared at the top of the rise, Harry finally fell into darkness.