✓ | Constellations; Fred Weasley [Book One]

Chapter 23

Buckbeak to the Rescue

When Venus came to consciousness, she was still lying on the grass. The rest of the group were nowhere to be seen, except for Ron who was still unconscious. She wondered if Snape had already reached Dumbledore to tell on them, or worse, call the dementors on her father and godfather. The howl of a certain werewolf reminded her that both her and Ron were in potential danger. She used a levitating charm on Ron and hurried to the infirmary, calling Madam Pomfrey to check on him quickly.

"Oh you poor children, what has happened to him? And you too, you are are bleeding."

"I'm not hurt. It's him, you need to look at. I'll be right back."

Venus wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, confirming that she was indeed bleeding, but it was nothing a quick 'episkey' could not fix. While leaving the infirmary, she heard Snape's and Fudge's voices. She quickly dashed into one of the nearby corridors to avoid being seen. They were talking about what had happened earlier. She had been too late. Sirius had been captured. As for Remus, he was still running around on Hogwarts grounds as a werewolf. It seemed as though Harry and Hermione had been knocked out as well and were being sent to the infirmary. Venus wracked her brain for a solution. She could not let them take her father away, not again and certainly not after they had just been reunited. She knew that if they took him away now, he would not be left alive. He would definitely be given the Dementor's Kiss as punishment.

From where she was hiding, she noticed Professor Dumbledore entering the infirmary and Snape, Fudge and Madam Pomfrey leaving a few minutes later. Once they were out of sight, Venus hurried closer to the door to eavesdrop on the conversation, hoping that the Headmaster did not use the Muffliato charm.

"Now, pay attention,' Dumbledore said, 'Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower."

Venus could not wait to hear everything, but at least she knew where her father was. All she needed to do, was to get there in time. Speeding up the stairs in record time, she reached the seventh floor. The Dementors were not there yet, but they could show up at any minute, and Venus was not sure how much time she had left.

"Alohomora!"

The door to Flitwick's office swung open, and she quickly locked it behind her. Sirius eyes widened at seeing her daughter, out of breath, in front of him. He had been sure that seeing her passed out beside the Whomping Willow would have been his last memory of her.

"What - what are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, of course."

She untied her father's hands and legs, freeing him from the chair he was bound to. A sharp tapping on the glass alerted the two. They turned to see Buckbeak, the hippogriff, with Harry and Hermione. Venus was confused, to say the least. She swore they had just been downstairs, in the infirmary. However, that was the least of her worries, and unlocked the window for them.

"How – how –?" Sirius asked weakly, staring at the Hippogriff.

"Get on – there's not much time," Harry instructed, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here – the Dementors are coming. Macnair's gone to get them. Venus you too, let's go."

Sirius placed a hand on either side of the window-frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky that he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back, and pull himself onto the Hippogriff behind Hermione. He held an out for his daughter, but Venus stared at the Hippogriff. There was no way all four of them would fit on its back.

"You should go. I'll be fine. They won't find me." She smiled at her father, "See you later, papa."

Venus did not wait, quickly dashing out of the door, heading to the left corridor. She paced three times in front of the wall, begging the Room of Requirement for a place to hide. A door appeared just in time as she heard footsteps approaching, and angry voices getting louder and louder. She assumed that Snape and the rest must have already found out that Sirius had escaped.

☆

The first thing she did the following day was to break the news to her best friends, while they were on their way to get breakfast. The Golden Trio was still in the infirmary.

"Awe, we missed all the action," Lee had grumbled.

Of course, Sirius escaping did not mean that all the drama was over. Snape announced the fact that Remus was a werewolf to everyone, ruining Venus's appetite. If it were not for Grace who had grabbed her arm, restraining her, Venus was sure she would have punched the Potions Professor.

She left the Hall, and headed towards Remus's office. She was not surprised to see the man packing his bags.

"Are you really leaving? All because of that scumbag?"

"You shouldn't speak about your professors like that, and yes. You know I have to."

"Well it was nothing but the truth, and I'm sure a lot of students think that having a werewolf for a teacher is cool."

"But I doubt that their parents would think the same."

"Fair enough, but we'll see each other again, right? And I can write you letters?"

Remus sat down opposite her, smiling at the girl, "Of course. Oh and you can keep these."

He gave her his box full of chocolates, and Venus was ecstatic. They both shared the same love for chocolates. After that, Remus went to hand in his resignation letter at the Headmaster's office. Of course, Venus went to see him again when his carriage came to fetch him from the school.

"I'll miss you," she said while hugging the man. Remus patted her back comfortingly.

"You'll see me soon, I promise."

[A/N] This chapter was posted after the book has been edited and rewritten, so it did not exist previously. The first version was just Venus waking up in the infirmary on the next day, but I hated that she played no part in helping Sirius escape, so here she is.