𝑭𝑰𝑹𝑬 𝑶𝑵 𝑭𝑰𝑹𝑬 ☾ ⚯͛ | 𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑴𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑬 𝑮𝑹𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑹

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ; ʙᴀᴄᴋ ɪɴ ᴛɪᴍᴇ

"Rowan?" Rowan opened her eyes, laying in a nice, comfortable bed in the infirmary. She was back at Hogwarts, Hermione and Harry by her side.

"I saw my dad."

"What?" Harry and Hermione question as Rowan glanced at them.

"He sent the dementors away. I saw him across the lake." Rowan admits.

"Listen, Rowan, they've captured Sirius." Harry announces.

"Any minute the dementors are gonna perform the Kiss." Hermione adds, making Harry nod.

"You mean they're gonna kill him?" Rowan asks, sitting up quickly as she moved her legs over the bed.

"No. It's worse. Much worse." She looked at Hermione, confused.

"They're going to suck out his soul." Harry informs. Rowan's eyes shifted past Hermione and to the doors when it opened, the girl turning around.

"Headmaster, you've got to stop them. They've got the wrong man." Hermione pleads, walking towards him as Rowan and Harry followed. Dumbledore stopped in front of her. Rowan glanced at Ron who was bed ridden by his leg injury.

"It's true, sir. Sirius is innocent." Harry and Rowan agree.

"It's Scabbers who did it." Ron chimed in from his spot on the bed.

"Scabbers?" The man asked in confusion, the three teens looking at him.

"He's my rat, sir. He's not really a rat. He was a rat. He was my brother Percy's rat. But then they have him an owl-" Ron began to ramble, causing Hermione to look at Dumbledore, cutting him off.

"The point is, we know the truth. Please believe us."

"I do, Miss Granger. But I'm sorry to say, the word of four 13-year-old wizards will convince few others." Dumbledore says, looking between them as he walked past them and towards Ronald's bed. "A child's voice, however honest and true.. is meaningless to those who have forgotten how to listen." He continues, having repeatedly patted Ron's injured leg, making him make noises of distress.

Ron kept it in as Dumbledore looked at them, taking his hand away from his foot before walking back around his bed and towards the trio.

"Mysterious thing, time. Powerful.." He walked past them, making them turn to him. "-and when meddled with, dangerous." His back faced them, standing a foot away from them. "Sirius Black is in the topmost cell of the Dark Tower." He turned around, eyes darted on Hermione. "You know the laws, Miss Granger. You must not be seen. And you would do well, I feel, to return before this last chime. If not, the consequences are too ghastly to discuss. If you succeed tonight.. more than one innocent life may be spared. Three turns should do it, I think."

Confused, Rowan and Harry glanced towards Hermione, watching as Dumbledore just walked off. He shut the doors behind him, but turned around, stopping them from closing by his hand.

"Oh, and by the way." He opened it just enough so he could look at them. "When in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin. Good luck." He nodded before shutting the door.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron blurts out.

"Right there with you, Ronald." Rowan nodded, agreeing with him.

"Sorry, Ron, but seeing as you can't walk.." Hermione trailed, turning to her friends whilst reaching into her jumper. Rowan jumped, startled when Hermione wrapped something around her and Harry's neck. She looked at it, confused as she went to touch it, but Hermione slapped her hand away, rather harshly.

She just watched as Hermione twisted the thing three times. Suddenly everything was moving around them. Harry and Rowan looked around, seeing as the night sky was turning to the morning, almost in reverse. It stopped and they were alone in the infirmary. Hermione took it off from their necks, shoving it back into her sweater.