Harry tugged at his lover's sleeve, staring at his watch. "We only have ten minutes to get back to the hospital wing without anyone seeing us—before Dumbledore locks the door..."
"Right," Alena wrenched her gaze from the sky. "let's go."
They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a spiraling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom, they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and listened. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking 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 preformed 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 'ol Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet how you saved him and his friends..."
Alena rolled her eyes. She caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed her and Harry's hiding place. Their footsteps soon died away. Harry and Alena waited for a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direction. Down the staircase, then another, along a new corridor—then they heard a cackling ahead.
"Peeves!" Harry muttered. "In here!"
The two wizards tore into a deserted classroom to their left. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in tearing spirits, laughing away.
They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded, then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again.
"What'll happen—if we don't get back inside—before Dumbledore locks the door?" Harry panted.
"I don't want to think about it," Alena muttered, checking a nearby clock. "One minute!"
They had reached the end of the corridor of the hospital-wing entrance. "Okay—I can hear Dumbledore," she whispered, 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 say. "It is five minutes to midnight. Three turns should do it. Good luck."
Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to lock it. Panicking, Alena and Harry ran forwards. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. "Well?" he asked quietly.
"We did it!" They spoke breathlessly. "Sirius is gone, on Buckbeak..."
Dumbledore beamed at them.
"Well done. I think—" he listened for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone, too. Get inside—I'll lock you in—"
Both Harry and Alena slipped back into the hospital wing. It was empty except for Hermione and Ron, who were now lying motionlessly in the end beds. As the lock clicked behind them, they crept back into their own beds, Alena tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes, happy that her father's now free.
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