he's a cat, ronald! what do you expect? it's in his nature. as harry reaches bottom, he finds ron weasley protectively cradling scabbers, while hermione grander does her best to restrain a hissing crookshanks.
that's rich coming from the owner of that smelly old shoe brush. it's all right, crookshanks. you just ignore the mean little boy.  then, sensing another presence in the room, both turn.
you know, the ancient egyptians of the nile river delta worshipped the cat goddess bast. ron glares stonily at hermione, then turns back to harry.
honestly, ron, it's not funny. harry's lucky he wasn't expelled.
c'mon. we're in here.
professor r.j. lupin.
it's on his case. she points. stamped in peeling letters on a battered case is "professor r.j. lupin."
seems to be. why? what is it, harry?
but they'll catch black, won't they? i mean.  eventually?
why're we stopping? we can't be there yet.  harry rises, slides open the door, peers into the corridor. harry's pov -- all along the carriage, heads look out curiously. then -- the train jerks -- the car sways -- and the lamps running along the ceiling flicker and.
ouch! ron, that was my foot! squeak-squeak-squeak. ron, a dark silhouette against the window, wipes a patch of condensation from the window.
harry? harry, are you all right? hermione's troubled face hovers above him. he nods. sits up. ron -- pale, nervous -- extends his hand. harry's glasses.
it was searching the train, harry. for sirius black.
i was trembling. cold. but then.  professor lupin made it go away.
no one was screaming, harry. harry looks to the window and we push in on his reflection. it becomes a glimmering puddle and.
of course! that's why he knew to give you the chocolate, harry.
what rubbish. ron spins. frowns at hermione.
me? i've been here all along.
death omens. honestly. if you ask me, divination's a very wooly discipline. now ancient runes. that's a fascinating subject.
a fair few.
don't be silly. how could anyone be in two classes at once? broaden your minds.
hagrid. he's got to be taken to a hospital. i'll go with you, if you like --
yes. but i hear draco's father's furious. i don't think we've heard the end of this.
achintee? that's not far from here.
no one knows. ron jumps, glances at hermione, then whispers to harry.
boggarts are shape-shifters. they take the shape of whatever a particular person fears most. that's what makes it so --
and the post office! it's about 200 owls, all sitting on color- coded shelves, depending on how fast you want your letter to go!
but, i mean, after awhile, it got a bit boring. don't you think, ron?
but, sir, we've only just begun learning about red caps and hinkypunks. we're not meant to start nocturnal beasts for weeks --
please, sir, an animagus is a wizard who elects to turn into an animal. a werewolf has no choice in the matter. furthermore, the werewolf actively hunts humans and responds only to the call of its own kind -- malfoy lets out a low howl.
no!!! harry and broom tumble in opposite directions. the nimbus soars end over end, tossed by the currents, then drops.  right into the whomping willow. floomph! harry, in freefall, drops through one cloud, then another. plummeting through the circling dementors. then.  a tall figure rises from the crowd. raises an open hand to the heavens. eyes angry but clear. dumbledore. an explosion -- more powerful than thunder -- rocks the air. a flash -- more fierce than lightning -- shocks the sky. and then.
harry! how're you feeling?
no one blames you, harry. the dementors aren't meant to come on the grounds. dumbledore was furious. after he saved you, he sent them straight off.
it's meant to be the most haunted building in britain. did i mention that?
should we move a bit closer?
perfect. just then, voices echo and three figures appear over the rise, phantoms in the mist. malfoy. crabbe. goyle. pike.
hope you don't mean yourself. malfoy's eyes shift, regard hermione with disgust.
harry? harry? the invisibility cloak drops. sure enough. harry. grinning.
but harry isn't going to keep it. he's going to turn it over to professor mcgonagall, aren't you?
oh, shut up.
that's madam rosmerta. ron fancies her.
that's a lie!
harry. will you explain to your friend ronald that he has absolutely no proof whatsoever that my sweet, unassuming cat ate his shabby, decidedly decrepit rat.
how'd it go, hagrid?
i meant the hearing.
and?
you mustn't blame yourself, hagrid.
where's he going, hagrid?
here we go again. it's the grim! it's the grim!
i can't believe they're going to kill buckbeak! it's too horrible.
you.  foul.  loathsome.  evil.  little cockroach.  malfoy stumbles back against a tree, cross-eyed with fear as hermione jabs the tip of her wand under his nose, when.
that felt good.
we'll stay with you too, hagrid.
i think you owe someone an apology.
i meant me.
nothing, i just thought i saw.  never mind.
ron! no! as ron pelts after scabbers, harry and hermione give chase.
harry. you do realize what tree this is.  ron nabs scabbers, cradles him in his bloody palm.
i've got you -- hermione pitches herself onto harry's feet.  and the three of them go scudding along.
haaaaaaarrrrrr!!!!!!!!! harry squints up, sees a pile-driving fist of a branch screaming straight down for his head. he rolls away just as -- whomp! -- the branch pulverizes the ground. hermione whips through frame, still clinging on for dear life, and harry rises. flumph! -- he's promptly knocked to the ground again. hermione goes crashing through the high branches, harry spies his glasses and grabs them. rising, he fits them to his face and.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
thanks.
where do you suppose this goes?
we're in the shrieking shack, aren't we? harry doesn't answer, staring at the dog prints in the dust on the floor. the ceiling creaks. they dash to the stairs.
ron! you're okay --
if you want to kill harry, you'll -- you'll.  have to kill us, too!
harry! no! just then, footsteps sound. black wheels toward the door, edgy. harry eyes black, wand hand shaking violently. as black turns back, he stops, regards harry cautiously.
no! i trusted you! i covered up for you. and all this time you've been his friend! he's a werewolf! that's why he's been missing classes! harry and ron stare, dumbfounded, at lupin. black howls then, bitterly amused. lupin eyes him, then turns back.
since professor snape set the essay.
you attacked a teacher. harry. harry looks a bit shocked himself, then turns to black.
don't worry. he's under the somnambulist charm. it's primarily used to transport the seriously deranged. as harry nods, pettigrew's pleading eyes find hermione.
harry.  he turns, see hermione staring at the full moon. his eyes shift. lupin is a rigid silhouette, his fingers twitching.
professor? the werewolf's eyes blaze. long teeth glitter. then.  a horrifying growl erupts from its throat. harry and hermione spin, begin to flee.  and run flat into snape. as they collapse in a great clumsy pile, snape's eyes flutter open, the spell broken. seeing hermione atop him, he sweeps her aside.
harry! harry runs full out. up ahead, framed against a full moon, he spies the dog, lying inert, the werewolf's razor-sharp claws suspended over its neck.
harry --
what?
listen, harry. they've captured sirius. any minute the dementors are going to perform the kiss.
it's what dementors do to those they want to destroy. they clamp their jaws over the victim's mouth and.  suck out his soul.
no. it's worse. much worse. you go on living. but you have no memory. no sense of self. you're just a shall. an empty shell.  as harry reacts, the door opens and dumbledore enters.
headmaster! you've got to stop them! they've got the wrong man!
the point is.  we know the truth. please, sir, you must believe us.
sorry, ron. but seeing as you can't walk.  as ron and harry exchange a curious glance, the bell continues to chime -- ding! ding! -- and.
seven-thirty. where were we at seven-thirty?
come on! we can't be seen! hermione grabs harry's arm, slams through the door.
this is a time-turner, harry. mcgonagall gave it to me first term. this is how i've been getting to my lessons all year.
yes. dumbledore wanted us to return to this moment. clearly something happened he wants us to change.
hurry! malfoy's coming! hermione pulls harry under the bridge. seconds later, footsteps clamor over their heads.
of course! remember what dumbledore said. if we succeed, more than one innocent life could be spared.
we'll see.
what?
no! fudge has to see buckbeak before we steal him. otherwise, he'll think hagrid set him free! harry nods, then looks toward the hut. inside, hagrid is handing scabbers to ron.
no, harry! you can't!
yes! you must! harry, you're in hagrid's hut right now. if you go bursting inside, you'll think you've gone mad. awful things can happen when wizards meddle with time. we can't be seen. hermione turns, watches fudge and the others drawing closer. she frowns, glances into the hut.
fudge is coming and.  we're not leaving.  why aren't we leaving?
sorry. crows begin to drop atop the roof. fudge's party arrives, raps on the door.
c'mon. any minute now we're going to be coming out the back door. quickly, hermione and harry dash into the trees directly behind.  just in time to see themselves -- along with ron -- exit the back door and slip behind the pumpkin pile where, only seconds before, they were hiding. as fudge appears at the window and picks his nose as before, hermione ponders the back of her own head.
is that really what my hair looks like from the back?
nothing, i just thought i saw.  never mind.
now, harry! as harry vaults into the patch, the crows stir, cawing at his ankles, pecking at his feet.
here, beaky.  come and get the nice dead ferret.  yum yum.  harry looks at her as if she's mad, but it's.  working. as buckbeak trots after, the cawing crows scatter.
we save sirius.
no idea.
look. it's lupin. as the whomping willow begins to thrash, its violence oddly muted at this distance, lupin takes a stick, pokes a knot on the trunk. instantly, the willow calms.
here comes snape. as lupin disappears into the gap at the base of the tree, snape makes his way down the slope.
now we wait.
'least someone's enjoying himself. harry and hermione sit together in the lengthening shadows. harry snaps off a piece of chocolate, hands it to hermione.
yes?
with a patronus. i heard snape telling dumbledore when we were taken to the hospital. according to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it.
but, harry, your dad's.
here we come.
really?
it's happened. lupin's transformed.
saving your life. harry looks back to the tall grass. the werewolf is frozen. as before, it begins to approach harry again. owwwwwwww! this time, harry doesn't stop her.
why?
buckbeak. we've got to find him. .  and reveals the werewolf, fifteen feet past, waiting. as harry and hermione step out, they freeze. the werewolf poises itself, preparing to pounce, when.  skreeek! the trees shake with the fury of a hurricane and buckbeak charges into the clearing, screening harry and hermione. the werewolf snarls angrily, makes to charge. with lightning-fast reflexes, buckbeak's claws slash the air.  only inches from the werewolf's face. the werewolf stops, eyes glittering with rage, then.  howls. turning, it vanishes into the forest.
poor professor lupin is having a really tough night.  just then, a chill wind rises.  the leaves of the trees tremble.  eerie shadows flutter over the moon, greasy as smoke.  dementors.
this is horrible.
no one's coming, harry.
no one's coming! you're dying, both of you.  and no one's coming! harry's face changes. a riddle unravels. he draws his wand.
no. but i don't like this!
out of the way! alohomora! sirius tests the iron door. still locked.
didn't really expect that to work.
dunamis! liberare! annihilare! emancipare! no. no. no. no.
quiet! i'm trying to think. she resumes pacing, muttering furiously. then.  stops. turns.
we have to go.
what d'you think, harry? too much for him -- everything that's happened tonight?
it's a mystery. though.  this fell out of the wrapping. harry turns, sees hermione holding up a feather.
	114:
as harry, ron, and hermione climb the stairs, they find a crowd gathering on the seventh floor landing.
as the trio exit through the back door, fudge, dumbledore and the executioner enter through the front.
we look upward, see the tops of the trees etched against the darkening sky. bats fly toward us. we follow one, when buckbeak snags one. a tail twitches briefly between his beak, then -- slurp! -- is gone.