Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
More Important Than Any Broomstick - Chapter 8 - Buckbeak's Escape
After they got back to school, time seemed to speed up as they worked their way toward their final exams. Harry found himself knocking on the door to Professor McGonagall's office.
"Come in," he heard her voice say from the other side of the door. He opened it and stepped inside. "Mr. Potter, how did you enjoy your Easter break? I believe this is the first time you've left the castle for it."
"Yes it is, Professor," said Harry nervously. "I very much enjoyed the Grangers' hospitality."
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit," said Minerva softly, apparently sensing his unease."
"I, er, would like to talk about my schedule for next year."
"Next year?" said Harry's head of house, surprised. "Normally the students take the same classes in fourth year that they took in third year."
"I know. I'd er, like to drop Divination and take Arithmancy instead," Harry said quickly, while he still had the nerve.
Professor McGonagall smiled slightly at this statement. "I can quite understand why you'd prefer a more, shall we say, respectable discipline. But it would be difficult if not impossible for you to start Arithmancy a year late."
"Hermione's agreed to tutor me in it this summer," said Harry pleadingly. He then sighed. "I'm really getting tired of my death being predicted every day. I'm not learning anything except that I hate that subject. Hermione said that Arithmancy is a type of math, and I always did well at math in muggle school."
"Well," Professor McGonagall sighed, "I'm not sure if I should. It would take a lot of work on your part. I know that you've improved tremendously since Christmas, but…"
"I promise I'll do whatever work I have to," Harry said pleadingly. "Please professor. I made a mistake signing up for Divination, and I don't want it to haunt me for the rest of my time at Hogwarts."
She took a deep breath and smiled again. "Very well Potter, I'll give you your chance. You will have to take an entrance exam during the summer which will cover the same material as the final exam that Miss Granger will be taking shortly. It will have to be before your Hogwarts letters arrive, which means you should be prepared in mid-July. The school will owl you when an exact time and date is determined. If you pass the test, you will be allowed to take the course. If not, then I'm afraid you will be stuck with Divination."
"Thank you professor," said Harry, with a smile on his face.
"You're welcome, Harry," said McGonagall softly. "You're dismissed."
True to Hermione's prediction, on the day before the final Quidditch match against Slytherin, she happily announced to Harry, "You did it! You are now both a master Occlumens and Legilimens! You said my exact thoughts!"
Harry smiled. "Thanks. I don't know about being a `master' at them, but…"
"There is always room for improvement, Harry," said Hermione. "But we've both learned everything we can from this book. Now the only way for us to improve is practice."
"Alright," conceded Harry. "Have you noticed the way that Snape has been trying to get me to look him in the eyes since we got back from Easter break?"
"Yes, of course," said Hermione. "He always has, but now we notice because we've learned what he's doing."
"Today, he actually did manage to look me in the eyes for a second, and I felt a tingling sensation."
Her eyes went wide. "What happened then?"
"I automatically put my shields up, and he visibly stumbled backwards for a second, and then I put my head down."
"I saw him stumble, but I didn't know what caused it. Then he took ten points from you for tripping him, when you weren't anywhere near him."
"That's Snape for you!" said Harry. "At least he didn't give me detention."
"How does a teacher like that stay at Hogwarts?" said Hermione. "Doesn't Professor Dumbledore know about it?"
"Of course he knows," yelled Harry, causing Hermione to back up. "Sorry. But if he knows what his students do, he knows what his teachers do. And if he doesn't, it's his responsibility as headmaster to find out. He has to know that everyone except the Slytherins hate Snape!" Harry said, standing up and beginning to pace. "He should find out why. I think he can make himself invisible to spy on classes. And if he can't, he can come and borrow my cloak! Come to think of it, he also must know that most students believe that Trelawney is a fraud! Even Professor McGonagall thinks so! She must have told him!"
"You're right," said a scandalized-looking Hermione. "And I've told you about the Muggle Studies professor! Why doesn't he do something about it?"
"What about Quirrel and Lockhart?" added Harry.
"But, but it's his responsibility to make sure that we receive a quality education from Hogwarts, but he's not even trying. At least this year we have a good Defense teacher, but you're right. Our first two were useless. Our Potions professor is useless, too. The only reason I do well in that class is because I learn from the book, not him! Although in your case, he's so unprofessional that it wouldn't matter if you quoted the entire textbook verbatim on one of his tests. He'd still flunk you! We also have useless Muggle Studies and Divination teachers! But at least we realize they're useless. A lot of students go through those classes and think they learned something! This is terrible! Somebody has to do something about it!" said Hermione, a determined look forming in her eyes."
"But what can we do?"
"We can start by making a detailed list of our complaints about the quality of education here, and then send a copy to Professor Dumbledore."
"Like that'll do a lot of good," said Harry sarcastically.
"If he doesn't do anything about it, we'll send a copy to every member of the school board. If that doesn't help, we'll send it to the ministry of magic itself."
Harry looked thoughtful. "Hm. Maybe something like that could work, but it couldn't be just us. Maybe if we got a few hundred students to sign it like a petition…"
"A petition!" squealed Hermione, surprising Harry with a quick kiss. "Yes, that's it! He'll have to sack them if enough students demand it! We should form a student government…"
"Hold on Hermione," said Harry smiling. "One thing at a time! Let's put together our list of complaints, and then quietly get people to sign it. I don't think we should bother with Slytherin students, or Percy, for that matter."
"Percy? Why not? He's Head Boy."
"He'd also sell his mother to Filch for a bigger badge," said Harry sarcastically. "Haven't you noticed how much he flaunts his authority? The way it's gone to his head? I'm sure that he'll take the petition as rebellion against authority and try to confiscate it and give us detention."
"I'm not sure about that," said Hermione skeptically.
"If you'd like, ask his siblings about it. I guess we shouldn't trust his girlfriend either."
Hermione took a deep breath. "Fine Harry, I'll trust you on this. When should we try to get it done so we can present a copy to Dumbledore?"
"Truthfully, I think it would be best for everyone who signs it, including myself, to present it after grades have been handed out. You KNOW Snape will fail everyone on the list, even you, if he sees it before then."
"You're probably right, Harry. Unfortunately, contrary to what that greasy git thinks of himself, he is one of the least professional teachers here!"
"Anyway," said Harry, changing the subject, "We were talking about Occlumency."
"Oh yes," said Hermione. "If you don't mind, I'd like to send the book to my parents so they can study it now."
"Sure," said Harry. "Why now?"
"Well, the more they learn from the book, the less time I have to spend teaching them, which would leave me with time to do…other things," Hermione said with a wink, causing Harry to go scarlet.
The next day, Gryffindor won the house cup mainly because of Harry's Seeker skills. Hermione sent the Occlumency book to her mother, requesting that she and her father practice it, so that no one would be able to steal information on Harry from them. She promised that she'd try to read their minds when she finished the term. Quietly they'd gotten the petition made, and every member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had signed the petition, as well as many other students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Final exams began. Due to Hermione's help, Harry was doing quite well on his exams. Before they knew it, it was the last day of exams, and they were headed toward Professor Lupin's obstacle course.
"Well, this should be fun," said Harry with a smile on his face.
"Er, well, yes. It should be, er, fun," said a very nervous Hermione.
"What are you nervous about, Hermione? You'll be at the top of the class."
"I doubt it, Harry. You're better than me in Defense." Hermione looked to Harry like she expected to die during the exam.
"I doubt I will, but what if I do? Will you be mad at me?" He then looked around suspiciously and whispered, "I could make sure you do better than me, if that'll make you happy."
"No, you can't," Hermione practically yelled. "You've got to do your best!"
`Alright, just please stop worrying. You'll make yourself sick."
"I'll try."
After Harry had beaten Hermione, who'd been stopped by a Boggart who took on Professor McGonagall's appearance and said she'd failed all her classes, and was the worst disgrace that Gryffindor has ever had. The Boggart/McGonagall went on to say that if she wants to continue her education, she'll have to repeat this year, and she'll be transferred to Hufflepuff because she wasn't worthy to be a Gryffindor anymore. After the exam was over, Harry held back his laughter so he could comfort her after that ordeal. While they were walking toward the Great Hall, they ran into Minister Fudge, who proved conclusively to Harry that he is in Mr. Malfoy's pocket and cares nothing about justice. He actually brought the executioner to the appeal! Hermione still had hope for Buckbeak, but admitted that it was a fool's hope.
After lunch, they separated for their exams. Harry found himself alone with Ron, who had happily signed the petition the day Gryffindor won the cup, waiting for whatever test Trelawney had in store for him. Ron, who'd been avoiding both Harry and Hermione since before Easter, decided to speak first. "Dad said he invited you to the world cup if he can get the tickets."
Harry nodded, trying to be somewhat friendly. "Uh-huh. That was nice of him. It sounds like a lot of fun."
"Oh yeah!" said Ron, always ready to talk quidditch. "I hope that Bulgaria gets there! I'd love to see Krum in action!"
"Who?" asked Harry, but he never got his answer. Ron was called away to take his test before he could respond.
When Ron came out, he told Harry that she had him look into a crystal ball, and he'd made up things that he saw. Harry decided to do the same thing. He made up a story about seeing Buckbeak fly away, which didn't seem to please his instructor. Before he left, though, she scared him with what seemed to be a real prophecy.
After he got out of there, he went to Hermione who told him she'd just gotten a letter from Hagrid that said he'd lost the appeal and they were going to execute the hippogriff at sunset. After they decided to sneak to Hagrid's hut after dinner, Harry told Hermione about Trelawney's prophecy. She simply laughed it off, but he insisted that this was different. She then said, "So what if it is a prophecy? What good does knowing about it do? If something's just going to happen anyway, what difference does it make to know beforehand?"
Harry decided to concede, knowing that if he didn't, she'd keep at him until he did. Before they knew it, they were inside Hagrid's hut, and Hermione had just discovered Scabbers. Almost as soon as she had Harry pick up the old rat, they heard voices outside and snuck out the back door under the cloak. Almost as soon as they got outside, Scabbers bit Harry and ran off. While he was rubbing his wound, he and Hermione saw a big black dog start chasing the rat. Harry said, "Oh well, what Ron doesn't know won't hurt him," causing Hermione to giggle. He looked over at the condemned hippogriff and said, "I'm going to free Buckbeak!" and ran out of the cloak and straight at the tethered animal, leaving a stunned Hermione behind.
After bowing to Buckbeak and untying him, Harry started pulling on his rope. They got out of sight just before Hagrid's front door opened and Fudge, along with everyone else, saw that the condemned animal was nowhere to be found. Hermione's disembodied voice whispered, "We've got to find a place to hide Beaky until we figure out what to do." Any suggestions?"
Harry hadn't really thought beyond untying the animal and his face showed it. "Er, we could try hiding him under the cloak." He never heard Hermione's reply, because at that moment, the black dog they'd seen earlier ran past them straight under the trunk of the Whomping Willow with something furry in its teeth, and Buckbeak ran after the dog, disappearing under the tree as well.
Harry got back under the cloak with his girlfriend, and they looked at each other for a few seconds before Hermione said, "I doubt they'll find him under there."
Harry laughed and said, "We should get back to the castle."
-
The next day, when Harry and Hermione were eating lunch at the Gryffindor table, they were surprised to find a disheveled but cheerful Professor Lupin walking up to them. He whispered to them, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to speak to both you and Hermione in my office once you're finished."
When they arrived at his office, he closed the door and charmed it for privacy.
Lupin looked at the two students in front of him and sighed. "Well, I've got a strange tale to tell you."
"A strange tale, sir?" repeated Hermione.
"Yes," said the professor. "It started last night while I was watching the two of you on the Marauder's Map."
Both Harry and Hermione looked at each other, sure that they were in trouble for freeing Buckbeak."
"Don't worry," smiled Lupin. "This is not about your saving an innocent creature from a terrible fate."
They both looked relieved for a second, and then confused. Harry spoke first, "Then, what is this about, Professor Lupin?"
"Well, the reason I was watching the map was because I thought you might sneak off and visit Professor Hagrid. I was right. I saw the two of you go into Hagrid's hut, but when you left, you had someone else with you."
"No we didn't," said Harry.
"Just Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers," added Hermione.
"Scabbers?" said Lupin, looking amused. "Is that what Ron calls him?" The two kids nodded. "The map calls him Peter Pettigrew."
"That's impossible," said Harry. "Peter Pettigrew is…"
"Dead," said Lupin. "That's what everyone, including me, believed. Sirius Black was send to Azkaban for his murder. In just a few days, two of my three best friends were killed while the other was responsible for it and sent to prison."
"Your three best friends?" asked Hermione.
"Yes. James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black. When I first came to Hogwarts, they were my best friends. They each became animagi. James was a stag, Sirius a black dog, and Peter a rat."
"My dad could become a stag, like my Patronus?" asked Harry. Lupin nodded. "Hold on, are you telling me that Peter Pettigrew has been living with Ron, and in my dormitory, all this time?"
"Yes," said Lupin.
"Why?" asked Hermione.
"Because Peter was the traitor, not Sirius. He faked his own death by cutting off his own finger and leaving it for evidence. He killed everyone Sirius was accused of killing."
"How do you know this?" asked Hermione.
"I have to get back to my story," said Lupin. "We all had nicknames. I was called Moony…"
"Because you're a were…" said Hermione.
"A werewolf?" Lupin looked surprised. "You really are the brightest witch of your age! How long have you known?"
"A, a werewolf?" said Harry, tensing up.
"Hush, Harry," said Hermione. "Since Professor Snape assigned the essay."
"He should be pleased about that. Yes, I suppose I should let you know. The reason they became animagi was so that they could stay with me during my transformations. Every month at the full moon I was snuck over through the passage that starts under the Whomping Willow that ends at the Shrieking Shack." Harry and Hermione both gasped. "Well, it didn't take James and Sirius long to figure out that I was always sick or away on the full moons. They came up with the idea of becoming animagi, and that made my transformations almost enjoyable. Anyway, I was called Moony; Peter was called Wormtail; Sirius was called Padfoot; and James was called Prongs."
"The map," said Harry.
"Yes," said Lupin. "The reason I immediately recognized the Marauder's Map was because I was one of the mapmakers. By the way, that's what we called ourselves, the Marauders. Anyway Harry, when your parents were hiding from Voldemort, everyone thought that Sirius was their Secret-Keeper, but he wasn't. It was Peter. Sirius had suggested making Peter Secret-Keeper because no one would suspect that James would trust little Peter with such a task. It turned out that trusting Peter was the biggest mistake of their lives. That rodent went straight to Voldemort and led him right to your parents!" Hermione grabbed Harry's hand. "The next day, Sirius went after Peter to avenge your parents' deaths. He cornered Peter, who started shouting out how Sirius had been the traitor. He then cut off his finger, broke the sidewalk, transformed, and ran off to find a wizarding family to live with, and wait for news of Voldemort."
"The Weasleys."
Lupin nodded. "The Weasleys. Last summer, their family's picture was in the Daily Prophet, and Wormtail was with Ron in the picture. Minister Fudge happened to visit Azkaban that day, and had that newspaper with him. While he was there, Sirius asked to borrow the paper. He saw the front page, and immediately recognized the rat, and realized that Peter was at Hogwarts, in a perfect position to kill you, should the need arise. He decided that he had to escape prison and stop Peter, so he used his unregistered form to get past the Dementors, and that's who he's really been after all this time. Not you - Peter. He went to Ron's bed, not yours."
"Wow," said Harry, stunned.
"Anyway," said Lupin. "I watched you two leave Hagrid's hut with Peter, but then Peter left you almost immediately."
"He bit me and ran off."
"You should have Madam Pomfrey check the bite for infections from that rat! Anyway, I then saw Sirius chasing Peter on the map. I `mischief managed' the map and put it in this drawer." He then opened the drawer and took it out. "Then I walked over to the place they were headed, the Whomping Willow." He smiled. "When I got in the passageway, I found a rather confused hippogriff, and I left him in the passage and kept on going until I got to the Shrieking Shack, where I found Sirius about to kill Peter. He explained everything to me, and I got Sirius to just capture Peter instead of kill him so Sirius could prove his innocence and we put him in a magical force field that neither a man, nor a rat, could escape. After we had him captured, I realized that I'd forgotten to take the potion, wolfsbane, that Professor Snape has been making me every month since I've been teaching here. Sirius then left with Buckbeak, and took him to a forest far away while I transformed into a werewolf and apparently terrorized Peter all night from the other side of his force field. Sirius then apparated back to Hogsmeade, transformed into a dog, and came back to the Shrieking Shack to wait for me to bring him news, so he could find out if he was cleared."
Lupin continued. "After I changed back, I brought Pettigrew to the castle, where I found that Minister Fudge himself had spent the night after looking for some escaped hippogriff. After hearing Pettigrew confess to everything under the influence of Veritaserum, Fudge had him arrested and cleared Sirius Black of all charges, and said something about giving the story to Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet to make sure that people wouldn't try to capture Black." Lupin then touched the map and winked at Harry. He then turned around and walked away. Harry, catching the hint, smiled, grabbed the map and stuffed it in his pocket while Hermione turned her head to look the other way. After giving Harry plenty of time, Lupin turned around and said, "Harry, Sirius Black wants to speak to you."
"Alright," said Harry, shrugging his shoulders. "Since he was innocent, I guess I can meet him."
"By the way," said Lupin. "If you don't tell anyone about Sirius being an Animagus, I won't tell anyone about you freeing Buckbeak." Both children laughed at this.
-
A few hours later, Harry found himself back in Lupin's office, alone with his godfather. Sirius Black looked like a man who'd been on the run for a long time. "You really look so much like James, except for your eyes. You have…"
"…my mother's eyes. Yes, I know," said Harry sadly.
Sirius hesitantly put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It seems cruel that I got to spend so much time with them, and you so little. I know that you're aware that your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "That if anything happened to them, that I…"
"Do you mean you want me to live with you?" asked Harry.
"I'll understand of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle. And the only home I own is ghastly. We'd have to find another one anyway."
Harry couldn't believe his ears. "I've already decided that I'll never go back to live with them, even if I have to be on my own, so I'll be glad to live with you. My only condition is that we live in Potter Manor."
"You know about Potter Manor?" asked Black, apparently surprised.
"I fixed it up over Easter break and was planning on moving there tomorrow. I do want to keep it a secret from Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic, though. I don't want anyone to be able to find me. Right now, only Hermione's family knows about it."
Sirius smiled, "It's a deal, as long as I can tell Moony." Harry nodded. "You know, I can't for the life of me remember where that mansion is."
-
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