Disclaimer: I do not own or claim any part of the Harry Potter characters or universe as crafted by JK Rowling. Anything recognizable in this chapter is taken from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Chapter 24: Tell Remus

"What in Merlin's name are you on about? We already changed one thing, Buckbeak didn't get executed this time around," said Potter.

"He didn't get executed last time either," Kaelix hissed, "you only thought he did. When you left Hagrid's hut earlier this evening, under the cloak, there was a future you that had already come back in time and was hiding in the bushes just waiting to snatch Buckbeak. When we were all down in the Shrieking Shack, our future selves were sitting right here where we're sitting now. We just didn't know it yet and we have to keep it that way. So whatever we did, whatever we're supposed to do, it all has to play out the same way as it did before."

"That means Sirius ends up locked in Flitwick's office all over again, just waiting for them to bring a dementor in, no chance of clearing his name," Potter argued.

"Good, that means you know right where he'll be," Kaelix countered.

"And how are we supposed to prove he's innocent if Pettigrew gets away all over again?" said Potter.

"You don't. You free him the same way you freed Buckbeak; let everyone see him in that tower and then get him the hell out before they get back with a dementor," Kaelix explained.

"But… that won't clear his name," he said.

"Been taking notes, have you?" she glanced at him, his expression showed no amusement. "No, it won't. But it will save his life, which is all that matters tonight. Worry about finding Pettigrew and clearing Black's name tomorrow, when you're not working against a scheduled execution."

"Why can't we just catch Pettigrew tonight and deliver him to the castle?" said Potter. "Then we could clear his name and there wouldn't be a scheduled execution."

"If we do that we could end up changing the timeline so much that our past selves won't need to go back in time and then there won't be a point for us to rejoin the timeline, we'd be stuck as duplicates. Right, Hermione?" said Kaelix.

Hermione nodded her confirmation.

"Couldn't we just go back forward then?" asked Potter.

Kaelix shook her head, "We'd be jumping forward to a point in the timeline that won't have been altered, even if we change it so that Black's cleared in this timeline that won't change the one that we came from. He'd be alive because our future selves already saved him but his name wouldn't be cleared. The point is you can't deviate from what you've already done, it'll mess everything up," said Kaelix.

Potter was rubbing his temples, "Hermione-"

"She's right, Harry. We can't jump forward in time, only backward. So whatever we do, we have to make sure our past selves are still triggered to go back in time. That's the only way we can rejoin the timeline. We have to save Sirius after they've locked him up in that tower."

"How do you know this?" he asked Kaelix.

She shrugged, "I like to read, but mostly I'm just using common sense."

"I don't think time travel falls under the vein of common but okay," said Potter.

"You live in a world full of magic, for one of your finals you transformed a teapot into a turtle, you ride flying broomsticks for sport, the castle is full of ghosts and moving staircases and paintings that talk to you, you deliver mail via owls and eat underneath an enchanted ceiling but time travel is where you draw the line of what's believable?"

"Well, when you put it that way… still doesn't explain how you understand how it works," he said.

"I told you, I like to read," she said, then added, "and I saw my future self earlier just after Remus transformed, during the scuffle."

"Kaelix?!" exclaimed Hermione.

"I thought we weren't supposed to be seen?" protested Potter.

"What? It was only a second and I didn't go and kill myself so it's fine. Besides, Potter saw himself too."

"What? No I didn't-"

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed again.

Kaelix shrugged, "Well, maybe you'd already passed out, but I definitely saw you across the lake welcoming back your patronus, nice work by the way, while you were also still on the same side of the lake as me."

"This is making my head hurt…" he groaned.

"That's how I feel everytime I talk to you," she said with a smirk.

He gave her a side eye glare while Hermione hushed them both.

Just then, they heard a burst of song. It was Hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his hands.

"See?" Hermione whispered. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"

The hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again; Kaelix and Potter seized his rope too, straining to hold Buckbeak back. They watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He was gone. Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head drooped sadly.

"I had plenty of time to get the cloak…" grumbled Potter.

"Don't even think about it," warned Kaelix.

Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.

Potter stiffened next to her as they watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the cloak and held it up.

"Get your filthy hands off it," Potter snarled under his breath.

"Shh!" said Hermione.

"Let it go, Potter, there's nothing you can do right now," said Kaelix.

Snape seized the branch Remus had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.

"So that's it," said Hermione quietly. "We're all down there… and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again…"

She heaved a heavy sigh, took the end of Buckbeak's rope, and tied it securely around the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees.

"There's something I don't understand… Why didn't the dementors get Sirius at the lake? I remember them coming, and then I think I passed out… there were so many of them."

Potter sat down too. He explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest dementor had lowered its mouth to Potter's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the dementors to retreat.

"I thought it was yours at first," he said to Kaelix.

"What? The stag patronus?" she shook her head. "I was able to form sort of a wall but I couldn't keep it up. The stag came from across the lake.

Hermione's mouth was slightly open.

"It must have been a really powerful one, to drive all those dementors away," said Potter.

"But who conjured it?" Hermione asked.

Potter remained silent. He appeared to be contemplating something.

"Didn't you see what they looked like?" said Hermione eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"

"No," said Potter. "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," said Potter slowly. "But… maybe I imagined it… I wasn't thinking straight… I passed out right afterward…"

"Who did you think it was?"

"I think—" Potter swallowed. "I think it was my dad."

"Oh, so you did see yourself then?" said Kaelix.

He glanced up at her, "What do you mean?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, Potter, but isn't your dad—well—dead?" Kaelix asked quietly.

He glanced up at her, "I know that, I know it sounds crazy but it looked like him… I've got photos, I know it looked like him."

Hermione looked concerned for his sanity.

Kaelix shook her head, "Aren't you supposed to look just like him?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"It was you across the lake— future-you at least. It wasn't your father you saw, it was yourself," she said.

"I know it sounds crazy," said Potter flatly. He turned toward Buckbeak with an unseeing gaze.

"You really think you saw your father across the lake before you passed out?" Kaelix sighed. "I know that's what you want to have happened but it's not what did happen—it's not what will happen. That was your future self and it's going to be your present self pretty soon so I hope you're finally ready to cast that full patronus and save your past self from those dementors."

"You really think that was me, that I can do that?"

"Technically speaking, you already did."

He was deep in thought and didn't respond. Kaelix wondered what was going through his mind. Logic said it couldn't possibly be his father; his father was dead. But she tried to imagine how she'd react to seeing the spitting image of her mother standing a hundred yards away. Especially after the night they'd had, seeing Pettigrew alive again, a man everyone had believed dead, after twelve years. She might think there was a chance her mother was still alive too.

The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon had risen now, drifting in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Hermione sat with her face turned toward the Willow, waiting.

And then, at last, after over an hour…

"Here we come!" Hermione whispered.

They all got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Crookshanks slither up and step on the knot that froze the tree. Next came Kaelix's past self, followed quickly by floating Snape and then Remus. Next came Black, Pettigrew, and Weasley, clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Followed finally by Past-Potter, and Past-Hermione. They all began to walk toward the castle.

Kaelix's heartbeat quickened. She watched Remus quicken his stride to catch up to past-her, and replayed their exchange in her mind as it was happening in front of her. Potter was right, now that she was watching her past-self and not just their doubles, it was really weird. She glanced up at the sky. Any moment now, that cloud was going to move aside and bathe them in moonlight.

"Harry," Hermione muttered as though she knew exactly what he was thinking, "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…" said Potter quietly.

"We've been over this, we already have. Your only chance at saving Black is getting that hippogriff to that window," said Kaelix.

"But he's right there-" said Potter.

"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped Hermione. "There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius; we're not supposed to be doing anything else!"

"All right!"

The moon slid out from behind its cloud. Kaelix saw Remus stop, saw Snape crumple to the ground, saw herself stop and turn again. Remus had gone rigid, he yelled at her to run, and then started shaking violently.

"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming—"

Somehow it looked even more chaotic from the outside than it had when she was living it. This time she saw Pettigrew lunge for Snape's abandoned wand and use it to curse Weasley. She watched Past-Potter disarm him before he transformed into a rat and disappeared into the darkness.

Simultaneously, Remus had Black pinned. Then they were staring each other down again. Remus was prowling closer to her past self and Black. He was closing in with no humanity shown in his eyes. Any second Remus was going to hear that howl—any second now, he'd be distracted and run off into the forest and Past-Kaelix would see—shit.

She stepped from behind the tree, cupped her hands around her mouth and just as she had heard herself do in the same moment the first time she'd lived it, she howled.

"Williams, are you crazy?!" hissed Potter, grabbing her robes and pulling her back. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to, what I've already done," she snapped.

She pulled free of him and howled again.

"You guys might want to make a run for it," warned Kaelix, and she howled a third and final time.

Remus turned and came bounding straight for them.

"Go, now!" she ordered them.

"Quick!" Hermione moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The dementors will be coming any moment—"

"Back to Hagrid's!" Potter said. "It's empty now—come on! Williams!"

She shook her head, "I'm staying to make sure Remus is okay. I'll meet up with you later, don't worry. Go."

"Williams-"

"Go!"

They took off running just in time to disappear into the trees as Remus' hulking form approached.

His footsteps came thundering toward her and she ducked behind a tree, keeping herself concealed in the shadows as best she could. Then she remembered, jumped out from the tree line just long enough to catch her past self's attention and wave her off.

I've got him, she thought to herself, jumping back behind the trees. You've got other things to worry about.

She took a deep breath to steel herself. "Remus?" she called out from her hiding place.

Peaking around the tree trunk she could see the subtle ear twitch and the slight head cock.

"Remus, it's me, it's Kaelix."

His gaze turned in her direction, his semi-human eyes glowing through the darkness. He blinked and there was something inexplicably human in his gaze. There was a chance that this wasn't such an insane plan after all.

Tentatively, Kaelix stepped out from behind the tree. Remus' head dropped and he emitted a low rolling growl. On second thought, there was a better chance that this was a terrible, terrible plan.

"Easy," she soothed. "I know you're in there. You miss one bloody potion and you think you get to lose your mind. I told you you're too dramatic."

His eyes narrowed at her, it was so familiar, so human, that she almost laughed. Except she was still facing down a huge werewolf that could probably kill her faster than she knew what was happening, so no laughing. He took a prowling step forward and she immediately backed up a step.

"Woah there," she said. "Not too close." She was probably already closer than the Old Man would've liked.

He seemed to understand because he remained where he was and sniffed the air. His mouth opened to reveal his rather large canines and his pants ghosted away between them.

"I need you to follow me," she said.

His mouth closed as his head cocked to the side, ears perked toward her. For a moment he just looked like a dog, a rather large and slightly menacing looking dog, but a dog nonetheless.

"Can you do that, can you follow me?" she asked.

His glowing eyes remained fixed on her, he didn't move or otherwise indicate he understood.

"Right, no way of talking."

Kaelix moved sideways to get abreast of him and started making her way back toward the Willow. After a few steps she stopped, "Are you coming?"

He just stared at her.

"You have to follow me, this way," she motioned toward the tree.

He started forward and she resumed walking, trying to keep a decent distance between them. She kept an eye on him as they crossed to the Willow but he never walked faster than her, never decreasing the buffer she set between them. Prowling behind her on all four paws he could almost be mistaken for a regular wolf.

Kaelix retrieved the branch that Remus had used earlier that night and touched the knot that froze the violent tree. She turned back to Remus and edged out of his path to the opening, minding the gap between them as the Old Man had told her to.

"Go on now. It's safer for you down there," she said.

Those glowing half human eyes just stared at her for a moment before they flickered between beast and man. He stepped toward her. Her spine went rigid. He wasn't growling now but he still moved with that threatening prowl. She was barely breathing. She should run. The Old Man told her to keep a safe distance, he told her not to let him too close, that it might not work, and yet… Something inexplicably human shown in those glowing eyes that she couldn't ignore and it prevented her from turning away.

He stopped just short of her, close enough that she could touch him if she reached out. Close enough that he could bite her, or tear her apart. He breathed in her scent and his head cocked. Those eyes were filled with sadness, she realized. He stepped forward, lowered his head, and pushed it into her torso. If she hadn't already gone rigid she would have fallen over backwards with the force of it, she nearly did anyway. She hadn't realized quite how large he was with the distance between them, but now, with his head pressed against her chest, she realized it was the size of her entire torso. She debated petting his head or otherwise returning the sort of hug he was giving her, but she couldn't seem to get a message from her brain to her limbs. She just stood there, frozen in the summer heat.

Then, in one swift motion, he bounded over to the Willow and disappeared between the roots. Kaelix released a breath that she didn't know how long she'd been holding. Within five minutes the Willow shook to life again, ensuring that Remus wouldn't be able to escape. Safe to wait out the moon, whether the effects of the wolfsbane potion continued to hold or not. For a split second Kaelix forgot everything else and was just thankful that Remus was safe, then she heard the shouting.

It was the three of them, they were at the edge of the lake already, trying to fight off the dementors.

"Damn it, Potter, I hope you can pull off what you've already done," said Kaelix, taking off at a run toward the lake.

As she careened around the edge of the forest for the opposite side of the lake she saw Potter take off running from Hagrid's doorstep. He already did it once, he'll do it again, Kaelix told herself, he'll do it, he's already done it.

The dementors had swarmed the opposite bank. They were emerging out of the darkness from every direction, gliding around the edges of the lake. She saw Potter dart between the trees ahead of her. A stitch was forming in her side but she kept running, if Potter needed a little push she might be the one who'd done it.

The glow of Past-Kaelix's wall lit up the opposite bank but it was fading, shrinking. Anytime now, Potter, she thought.

He dove behind a bush right at the edge of the lake but he was peeking through it desperately, waiting for something.

"Damn it, Potter," she muttered between labored breaths.

No one else was coming, didn't he see that yet? The circle of dementors across the lake were closing in on their past-selves, Past-Kaelix's wall was failing, one of them lowered its hood and clamped its withered hands around Past-Potter's neck.

"Potter!" Kaelix yelled, nearly crashing in the bush with him, "What are you doing? Get out there and save us. Now!"

"But, my dad-"

"I already told you, it wasn't him, it was you- it is you, go now before it's too late!" she hissed.

He finally snapped into action, flung himself out from behind the bush and pulled out his wand.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled.

And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. Kaelix shielded her eyes, it was much brighter up close. Halfway across the lake she could look right at it, the stag galloped silently across the black surface of the lake. Kaelix stepped out from behind the bush to stand next to him and they both saw it lower its head and charge at the swarming dementors. Now it was galloping around and around the black shapes on the ground, and the dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness… They were gone.

The Patronus turned. It was cantering back toward Potter across the still surface of the water. The stag shown as brightly as the moon above, it was coming back to him. Kaelix watched her past self look over and see Potter greet his patronus.

It stopped on the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at Potter with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it bowed its antlered head.

"Prongs," he whispered.

But as his trembling fingertips stretched toward the creature, it vanished.

Potter stood there, hand still outstretched. Then even Kaelix's heart leapt for a brief moment when they heard hooves behind them—they whirled around and saw Hermione dashing toward him, dragging Buckbeak behind her.

"What did you do?" she said fiercely. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!"

"I just saved all our lives…," said Potter. "Get behind here—behind this bush—I'll explain."

The three of them crouched down out of sight, and Hermione listened to what had just happened with her mouth open yet again. Kaelix was barely listening though, she was still focused on what was happening on the other side of the lake. She still had to tell her past-self not to try anything stupid.

"Did anyone see you?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, haven't you been listening? Williams and I saw me but I thought I was my dad! It's okay!"

Kaelix watched her past-self stumble and Black caught her.

"Harry, I can't believe it… You conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those dementors! That's very, very advanced magic…"

"Williams was right, I knew I could do it this time," said Potter, "because I'd already done it… Does that make sense?"

"That's the most sensible thing you've said tonight, Potter," said Kaelix. "Though I wish I had an official record of you admitting I was right."

"Harry, look at Snape!" said Hermione.

The both of them joined Kaelix in peering around the bush at the other bank. Past-Kaelix had righted herself and Snape had already tied Black up and he'd fallen to the ground. As Snape conjured stretchers for Past-Potter and Past-Hermione, Past-Kaelix was contemplating a very desperate, very foolish move. She stood and stepped out from behind the bush. Something tickled the back of her neck just as it did before- now to her past-self. Past-Kaelix looked up and locked eyes with herself. Present-Kaelix shook her head just as she'd seen her future-self do before. No, she told herself, don't try anything.

"Kaelix, what are you doing?!" Hermione exclaimed.

Potter grabbed her robes and pulled her back down behind the bush.

"What the hell are you thinking?" said Potter.

"Present-me or past-me?" she asked. "Actually, the answer is pretty much the same either way. Past-me was thinking about taking out Snape to let Black get away, but when I was on that side of the lake, future-me told me not to. So present-me thought it would be a good idea to tell past-me not to try anything stupid either. Is that alright with both of you?"

"That was still dangerous, but I suppose if you did it before…" said Hermione.

"We need to move, he's heading back toward the castle," said Potter urgently.

"Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing…"

"Did you get Lupin back into the Willow alright?" Potter asked.

"Yeah, I did. It was surprisingly easy actually. Apart from the whole thinking I could get mauled at any moment bit," she said.

"I'm glad he's safe, who knows what else lives in these woods… besides spiders, anyway," said Potter.

Kaelix snorted, "Spiders?"

"It's a long story," he said with an uneasy grin.

"Maybe you'll tell me sometime. You know, when we're not trying to help an escaped criminal evade a death sentence," she said.

"Yeah, maybe over breakfast sometime," said Potter.

They fell silent and waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while the bush next to them whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, was ferreting for worms again.

"D' you reckon he's up there yet?" said Potter, checking his watch. He looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.

"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"

Kaelix stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted in his belt.

"That's got to be Macnair," said Kaelix. "They've just sent him to get the dementor."

"This is it, Hermione, Williams—" said Potter.

Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Potter gave her a leg up. He offered Kaelix a leg up next and she climbed on behind Hermione. Then he placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbed up at the front. He pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins.

"Ready?" he whispered to them. "You'd better hold on to me, Hermione, and Williams, make sure you hold onto her—"

"I don't think I'm going to like this at all," Hermione muttered under her breath.

Potter nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.

Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Kaelix held onto Hermione, who was gripping Potter around the waist for dear life and muttering, "Oh, no—I don't like this—oh, I really don't like this—" Kaelix wasn't thrilled with the constant lurching up and down caused by the flapping of the wings but as they rose up above the ground there was something exciting about being up there. She started to maybe see the appeal of a flying broomstick.

Potter urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle. Kaelix counted the windows flashing past as Potter pulled hard on the rope he used as sort of reigns.

"Whoa!" said Potter, pulling back.

Hermione had buried her head in Potter's back by now, she definitely wasn't fond of flying. Buckbeak slowed down and they found themselves at a stop, apart from the rising up and down several feet with each beat of the hippogriff's large wings to remain airborne.

"I can't see anything," said Potter. "Is this the right window?"

"It is," confirmed Kaelix. "He's there, I can feel it. Here, move forward just a bit."

The next beat of Buckbeak's wings took them forward, almost too far.

Kaelix reached out and tapped sharply on the glass. They rose and fell again, and again, and again.

"Anything?" asked Potter.

"No," said Kaelix.

"Are you sure it's the right window?" Hermione asked into Potter's back.

"Positive. He was tied up before, they probably left him that way. What's that unlocking spell?" said Kaelix.

Hermione peeled herself away from Potter far enough to pull out her wand, her left hand still had a death grip on his robes.

"Alohomora!" she said and the window sprang open, she immediately tucked her wand away and latched back onto Potter with both hands.

Sure enough, through the impenetrable darkness of the room, Kaelix could just make out Black's dark form, bound and gagged at the opposite side of the room. He'd pushed himself up to a sitting position and was trying to stand but the cords around his legs were too tight; they'd more than tripled them from what Snape had initially conjured. An intense feeling of deja vu swept over Kaelix, not that she'd ever been flying on a hippogriff more than a hundred feet in the air before but the image of a man huddled in the corner of a room, she would have sworn she'd seen this before, or something eerily similar, though she couldn't think of where. Their gazes met through the darkness and the relief that shown in his eyes made her chest tighten. What must the last minutes have been like for him, sitting bound and gagged, alone in the darkness, knowing he was about to lose his soul.

"Williams?" said Potter.

"Yeah," she said, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. "Yeah, he's there but he's bound and gagged, he can't stand up. Hold on-"

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she pulled in a bit of magic and then pushed it out again with the sole purpose of breaking those cords. She wasn't sure what spell to think about or how this was working without her wand or what it meant. But she channeled the heat, the magic, straight into those cords and in an instant they dissolved into nothing, crumbled into dust and fell away.

Black watched it happen with awe and then his eyes darted to the door. He shot to his feet, someone was talking in the corridor outside the door. They were there to take his soul.

"Come on," hissed Kaelix. "They're bringing a dementor, move now!"

She shook her hand to stop it from trembling and reached out for Black as he climbed onto the window sill. He grabbed her arm.

"Ready?" she said.

He nodded. She pulled. He flung one leg over Buckbeak's back and hauled himself onto the hippogriff behind her.

"Hold on," said Kaelix. The door to the office rattled. "Potter, go now!"

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Potter. "Up to the tower—come on!"

The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements. Potter slid off at once, offered a hand to Hermione to slide off as well. Kaelix slung a leg over to slide down herself but Black put a hand on her shoulder and she paused.

"Thank you," he breathed. "For everything."

Kaelix stared at his hand on her shoulder, her jaw clenched, awkward didn't begin to describe what she was feeling at the moment. She managed to nod.

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Potter panted. "They're already at Flitwick's office, they'll know you've gone by now. We have to get back."

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head. Kaelix took the opportunity to slide down the rest of the way.

Black shifted forward on Buckbeak, "What happened to the other boy? Ron? And Remus, did you see what happened to Remus?"

Kaelix shrank back into the shadows to let them have their hurried farewell.

"Ron's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madame Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. And Williams led Lupin back to the tunnel under the Willow. He's safe. Now go—quick—"

But Black was still staring down at Potter.

"How can I ever thank—"

"GO!" Potter and Hermione shouted together.

Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are—truly your father's son, Harry…"

He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Potter and Hermione jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more… The hippogriff took off into the air… He and his rider became smaller and smaller as they all gazed after them… then a cloud drifted across the moon… They were gone. Kaelix tried to shake the antsy adrenalin from her body.

"Harry!" Hermione was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch. "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us—before Dumbledore locks the door—"

"Okay," said Potter, wrenching his gaze from the sky, "let's go…"

They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiraling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom of it, they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and listened. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.

"…only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Snape was saying. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"

"As soon as Macnair returns with the dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last… I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape… and once young Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him…"

Kaelix could practically feel Potter's teeth clench. She caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed their hiding place and her skin crawled. Their footsteps died away. The three of them waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, then another, along a new corridor—then they heard a cackling ahead.

"Peeves!" Potter muttered, grabbing both Kaelix and Hermione's wrists. "In here!"

They tore into a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in boisterous good spirits, laughing his head off. Kaelix ripped her wrist out of Potter's grasp.

"Would you stop doing that?" she hissed.

"Oh, he's horrible," whispered Hermione, her ear to the door. "I bet he's all excited because the dementors are going to finish off Sirius…" She checked her watch. "Three minutes, Harry!"

They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again.

"Hermione—what'll happen—if we don't get back inside—before Dumbledore locks the door?" Potter panted.

"I don't want to think about it!" Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. "One minute!"

They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance. "Okay—I can hear Dumbledore," said Hermione tensely. "Come on!"

They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared.

"I am going to lock you in," they heard him saying. "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking slightly, Kaelix, Potter, and Hermione ran forward. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. "Well?" he said quietly.

"We did it!" said Potter breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak…"

Dumbledore beamed at them, "And Remus?"

"Safely back beneath the Willow for the night," said Kaelix.

"Well done. I think—" He listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too—get inside—I'll lock you in—"

They all slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty except for Weasley, who was sitting propped up on his elbows and looking very distraught. The lock clicked behind them. They had done it.

"How're you there?" Weasley asked, pointing at them. "When you were just there?"

"What do you mean, Ron?" Hermione said, tucking the Time-Turner back under her shirt.

"You were just there," he said desperately, pointing to the middle of the room where they'd been standing three hours and five minutes ago. "But then you came in there."

"Honestly, Ron, we can't have been in two places at once," Potter said with the hint of a smile.

Kaelix laughed. They all crept back to their own beds and heaved a sigh of relief at their own success. A moment later, Madame Pomfrey came striding back out of her office.

"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

She was in a very sour mood. The three of them accepted their chocolate quietly. Madame Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it. Kaelix accepted the potion she was offered and didn't protest when Madame Pomfrey wrapped the blankets around her once more. After she was satisfied that they'd all had their fill of chocolate and Kaelix was cooperating with the blankets, she finally stepped away for a moment.

"Don't look so glum, Potter. He evaded them for nearly a year now and that was with no one's help, there's no way they'll catch him," said Kaelix quietly.

"I know, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"Pettigrew still got away."

"He was always going to, wasn't he?"

"What do you mean?"

"Remember what Trelawney said? Tonight. She said the servant will break free and rejoin his master tonight. There was never a version of this night where he didn't escape, some things… some things you just can't change."

"I just wish Sirius didn't have to run anymore."

"He's alive with his soul intact, and he's not alone anymore. I'd say that's a step in the right direction. Pettigrew will turn up eventually, there will be a lot more eyes looking for him now."

And then they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them…

"What was that?" said Madame Pomfrey rushing back over to them in alarm.

Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madame Pomfrey was staring at the door.

"Really—they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"

Kaelix was trying to make out what the voices were saying. They were drawing nearer—

"He must have disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out—"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS—HAS—SOMETHING—TO—DO—WITH—POTTER!"

"Severus—be reasonable—Harry has been locked up—"

BAM.

The door of the hospital wing burst open.

Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself, more furious still than he had been in the Shrieking Shack.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madame Pomfrey. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Severus, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw—"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Potter and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" shrieked Snape. "HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT—"

"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madame Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not!" said Madame Pomfrey, bristling. "I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry, Hermione, and Kaelix are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

"He's not the only one!" puffed Fudge. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well… I'd better go and notify the Ministry…"

"And the dementors?" said Dumbledore. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, they'll have to go," said Fudge, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy… Completely out of control… no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight… Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance…"

"Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore, smiling at Kaelix, Potter, and Hermione. As he and Fudge left the dormitory, Madame Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.

"What—what the bloody hell did I miss?" Weasley asked. "What was Snape yelling about? Where's Black? "

The three of them exchanged a look.

"You explain," Potter said to Hermione, helping himself to some more chocolate.

Hermione gave Weasley a quick summary of all that had transpired since he'd been knocked unconscious by Pettigrew. His jaw fell open several times, followed by as many bloody hells, and a few worse curses when Snape's name came up.

"Ron," Hermione scolded.

"What? He's a right git, trying to get someone killed over an old personal grudge. He's mental that one," said Weasley.

"I'm sure if he'd seen Pettigrew he would have listened to reason, but without actual evidence, just our word against his hatred wasn't enough. It's sad really," said Kaelix.

"Yeah, I'm not going to lose any sleep feeling sorry for Snape," said Weasley.

"I don't expect you have the capacity to care about anything enough to lose sleep over it, Weasley. Except maybe food," she said.

Potter laughed, Weasley looked mortally offended, and Hermione smiled.

"We should get some sleep," said Hermione.

But there were voices coming up outside the door again, they were arguing, though not nearly as loudly as Snape had been yelling before.

"What in Merlin's name is happening now? Will this ever end?" Madame Pomfrey said exasperatedly.

The door swung open again, less forcefully than when Snape burst through an hour ago.

"This isn't up for negotiation, Dumbledore," Fudge was saying. "We're taking her."

"Think about what you're doing, Cornelius," said Dumbledore with an edge to his voice.

"We cannot just let her go now that we know what she might be capable of," Fudge argued.

Kaelix's stomach dropped, they were talking about her.

"The very fact that you only think you know and are not certain is the very reason you cannot take her," said Dumbledore.

Fudge lowered his voice and Kaelix had to strain to hear him at the opposite end of the ward, "We received a tip from a very reliable source that she's- she's one of them. We cannot wait to act, we have to send a message."

"What message is that, Cornelius? What message does it send when a student disappears from my school in the middle of the night based on a rumor? What message is the Ministry trying to deliver by taking a thirteen year old to Azkaban?"

Kaelix's stomach flipped. Azkaban...

"The message that we will not let her kind destroy us!" he was beginning to sound near as hysterical as Snape had.

"You aren't even certain that she's one of them. This is premature and a mistake," said Dumbledore deathly quiet. "If you do this, you will regret it."

"We were informed with certainty that she is-"

"By who?" Dumbledore demanded.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Who is your source? And what are they basing their determination on?"

"It's confidential," said Fudge nervously. "The order's already been set, Albus, we cannot let her go."

"You already have once," Dumbledore replied.

"What in Merlin's name are you-" he began with a furrowed brow, then his eyes widened as he recalled whatever it was that Dumbledore was referring to. "You knew, even then you knew and you let us, let her go." He started shaking his head, "Not this time, this time we have to take her. Miss. Williams, come here please," he moved past Dumbledore.

This was it, she realized rising from her bed, this was the other part of Trelawney's prophecy. She was the one being chained, in Azkaban. Kaelix exchanged a look with Potter and wondered if he too was putting it together. It didn't much matter if he was, seemed like she was going either way.

"What I know, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, moving into Fudge's path once more, "is that sending an innocent child to Azkaban on baseless accusations and conjecture is a mistake that will solve nothing," his words held restrained emotion.

It was the first time that she'd seen such anger in the Old Man's eyes, and for once she was glad he was fighting for her.

"It's not up to you, Albus. Don't make this harder than it has to be," he said stepping around the headmaster. "Miss. Williams, I'll need you to hand over your wand."

Her stomach twisted. The Inn Man had been right, the Ministry had come for her. Maybe she should have accepted his offer of protection, maybe she should have done more research when she had the chance, maybe-

"Miss. Williams, please don't make this difficult," said Fudge.

She pulled it from her pocket and set it on the bedside table.

"Very good, come with me please."

Kaelix shrugged the blankets off her once more.

"You cannot mean to take this child to Azkaban?" Madame Pomfrey said in disbelief. "She has a condition, she'll freeze to death."

"Oh she certainly does have some condition, doesn't she," the Minister said coldly.

"One moment, Cornelius," said Dumbledore.

"Albus, really, you've delayed us long enough-" said Fudge.

"Then you can wait one moment more," said Dumbledore with an iciness she didn't think he possessed until now.

"One minute," Fudge said, though lacking the confidence to back it up. "And I'm not leaving this room. We've already lost one criminal tonight."

Dumbledore dismissed the Minister and turned instead to Kaelix.

"I'm afraid I must apologize as I have failed you tragically tonight. There's nothing more I can do at this moment, they mean to take you to Azkaban and I cannot stop them. Not tonight. But I will come for you, I will get you out. Remember that Azkaban is guarded by dementors. Do not let them get hold of your thoughts. Keep your head clear and I promise you, Kaelix, I will get you out of there."

She looked into those fiery blue eyes and reactively wanted to lecture him about what she thought of making promises, but the words died in her throat. She was going to Azkaban, the wizarding prison that no one but an animagus had ever escaped from. Did they even let people back out of there? Right now she didn't care if he could or couldn't keep it, she was floundering and that promise gave her something to hold onto.

"I'm sure you have many reasons to doubt me," said Dumbledore. "I know you've discovered things throughout the year that I kept from you and I wish I could explain but there isn't time. Right now, I need you not to give up hope."

"That's enough, Albus," Fudge called from the doorway.

"Do not give up hope," he said again. "I will get you out."

She nodded. Unsure what exactly she was nodding to. She turned to face Fudge, who looked very uncertain of himself. Then struck by a sudden and overwhelming need, she looked back at Dumbledore.

"Tell Remus…" she began and then realized she had no idea what she wanted Dumbledore to tell him.

Things had gone so unimaginably wrong tonight, just after having gone so right.

"I will," Dumbledore agreed, as if he knew what she couldn't even figure out herself.

They stood in silence for a moment, Kaelix wanted to thank him for understanding but she'd lost her voice again.

"Williams," said Potter.

She looked at him, concern written all over his face. She couldn't handle it.

"Mind your own business, Potter, you're so bloody nosey," she said halfheartedly.

He gave her a lopsided grin, "Never."

"Hermione," said Kaelix, remembering something that suddenly seemed very important, "that book I borrowed from you, it's under my bedside table."

She was confused for a moment and then gave a nod of understanding.

"Miss Williams, we must go now," Fudge said.

She looked back at the man that was taking her away to a prison. He certainly didn't appear all that powerful, nor that confident in himself at the moment. A bead of sweat ran down his temple as he replaced his bowler hat atop his head. His eyes flitted from her to Dumbledore and back again as if he expected some kind of resistance. This man alone did not have the will to do this, to send a thirteen-year-old girl to Azkaban. No, there was someone or something else involved in all of this, she was certain, and if she ever did get out, she would find out who or what it was.

Once they stepped out of the hospital wing she didn't look back. They were joined by two more wizards, one on either side. Kaelix assumed this was a precaution and only reinforced what she had surmised earlier, Fudge had expected Dumbledore to put up some kind of a struggle, either that or they expected her to. Did they really think she would be that difficult? Just what exactly did they think she was capable of?

"Who are you?" she asked them, slightly out of spite.

"Please remain silent, we don't want any trouble." Fudge said with a nervous edge.

"I was just making conversation. It can be a long walk through the castle at night."

"The residents in Azkaban are not allowed any visitors so you better get used to the silence now," said Fudge, a hint of nerves rattling his voice.

"All the more reason to chat on our way, soon I'll only have myself and the dementors to talk to," she said.

"Silence," Fudge said, in what she was sure was supposed to be an intimidating tone but came out as a slightly high-pitched cry.

"Look, I didn't ask who tipped you off about me, because I assume someone must have and since you wouldn't tell the Old Man I'm sure you won't tell me. I only asked who they were," she gestured to the stone faced guards on either side of her. "No need to get snippy."

They fell silent the rest of the way to the entrance hall. She thought of Black, winging away on Buckbeak and for a split second wondered if she should have gone with him. That wouldn't have been so bad, being on the run with Black, certainly better than a cell in Azkaban. Although, if her research over the year was any indication, her being on the run would end with an accidental death that was potentially orchestrated by someone. Perhaps the same someone who had gotten her carted off to Azkaban.

No one crossed their path the whole way. Outside a black carriage was waiting, hitched to two thestrals just like the one that had brought her to the castle last September.

She looked over her shoulder at the castle one last time, it was just as magnificent as the first day she'd seen it. Somewhere within those walls he was probably sleeping. The term was over, come sunrise the students would be groggily packing up their things to depart on the Hogwarts Express and he would be among them. Would he look for her at breakfast? If he found out what happened, would he care that she was being carted off to prison? Or would he even notice she was gone? Would anyone notice? The Old Man had promised to get her out but how would he and how long would it take?

Suddenly the hollowness in her stomach was a deep yawning pit and she wondered if she should have told the Old Man something, anything to pass along to Remus. She mentally shook her head. The things she needed to say weren't the sort of things that you passed through someone else, not unless that was the only possible way, not unless she was never going to see him again. And then it occurred to her that she might not.

AN: AhhhhhhhhhH! This! Has! Been! Such! A! Long! Time! Coming! It honestly feels a little surreal to have finally finished this thing? Well, the first installment of it anyway, don't worry we'll get to find out what happens to Kaelix. It's just that I've been working on this story on and off (more off than on, honestly) since like 2005 I think? Somewhere in the depths of my office I have an old handwritten timeline of this story that I specifically remember writing at my aunt's house while my cousins made fun of me for being a nerd (good times). But wowowowow it feels SO GOOD to actually Finish A Thing! Thank you all so much for reading this story that is very dear to my heart and for loving Kaelix and for leaving so many sweet reviews. I love you. I love you. I love you. Kaelix's story will continue on in the next installment, Secrets Better Left Buried, which I will be posting the first chapter of right after I'm done here. Please give that new story a follow and I'll see you at the end of the next chapter!