Azlyn, Nyx, and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Dementors are mean...

I had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius, who was still holding Jacky’s hand. Harry and Hermione were next, then Az, and I.

Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. I could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Sirius, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. I had the impression Sirius was making no effort to prevent this.

Jacky came up to the rest of us. “Hermione, Azlyn, you two go on ahead. I want to talk to Nyx.” They both looked apprehensive, but Jacky rolled her eyes. “Really, I have no wand. What do you expect me to do?” They left, observing us from far away.

“I realize you don’t know me as much as you know my cat self, but I heard you need a capable guardian. I’m willing to be there if you ever need me.” She said. “Frankfully, I’m just happy to be alive in human form.” I thought about her offer. “Yeah, if you want to, I’d be happy to be under your care. This is really fast and all, but I feel like I can trust you with my life. We’d just have to speak with Dumbledore.”

We didn’t speak again until we had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches. Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry, Hermione, Jacky, Az, and I to pass. At last, all of us were out. The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, we set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. My mind was buzzing. I was going to live with Jacky. I was going to have a real family. She probably wouldn’t use illegal curses on me… I felt dazed...

“One wrong move, Peter,” said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew’s chest. Silently we tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Sirius, his chin bumping on his chest.

And then - A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Our party was bathed in moonlight. Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Sirius froze. He flung out one arm to make Harry and Hermione stop. Jacky hissed and tried holding Az back from Lupin. I could see Lupin’s silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

“Oh, my —” Hermione gasped. “He didn’t take his potion tonight! He’s not safe!” “Run,” Sirius whispered. “Run. Now.” But I couldn’t run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. Harry leapt forward but Sirius caught him around the chest and threw him back. “Leave it to me — RUN!”

There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin’s head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks’s hair was on end again; he was backing away —

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry’s side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw-to-jaw, claws ripping at each other.

I stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. It was Hermione’s scream that alerted us — Pettigrew had dived for Lupin’s dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light — and Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang — Crookshanks flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap. Before anyone else could stop him he did the same to Az.

“Expelliarmus.” Harry yelled; Lupin’s wand flew high into the air and out of sight. “Stay where you are!” Harry shouted, running forward. Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. We saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron’s outstretched arm and heard a scurrying through the grass.

There was a howl and a rumbling growl; we turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest — “Sirius, he’s gone, Pettigrew transformed!” Harry yelled. Sirius was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry’s words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.

Harry, Hermione, Jacky, and I dashed over to Ron and Az.

“What did he do to him?” Hermione whispered. Jacky checked on him. Az and Ron’s eyes were only half-closed, their mouths hung open; they were definitely alive, we could hear them breathing, but they didn’t seem to recognize us. “I don’t know...” Jacky breathed. “I was forced to quit school the middle of my sixth year...”

I looked desperately around. Sirius and Lupin both gone... we had no one who had graduated but Snape for company, still hanging, unconscious, in midair. “We’d better get them up to the castle and tell someone,” said Jacky, “Come —” But then, from beyond the range of our vision, we heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain...

“Sirius,” Jacky muttered, staring into the darkness. We had a moment’s indecision, but there was nothing we could do for Ron and Az at the moment, and by the sound of it, Sirius was in trouble — Jacky set off at a sprint, the rest of us behind her. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. We pelted toward it, and I felt the cold without realizing what it must mean -

The yelping stopped abruptly. As we reached the lakeshore, we saw why — Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head. “Nooo,” he moaned. “Nooo... please...”

And then I saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. I spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating my insides, fog starting to obscure my vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling us... “Hermione, Nyx, think of something happy!” Harry yelled. I raised my wand, blinking furiously to try and clear my vision, shaking my head to rid it of my faint screaming that had started inside it —

I’m going to have a real family.

I forced himself to think of Jacky, of having a real mum, and began to chant: “Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!” Sirius gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death. He’ll be all right. Jacky was lying on top of him, her hands covering him mouth as she stared down the Dementors with a fierce glare.

“Expecto patronum! Hermione, help us! Expecto patronum!” Harry shouted. “Expecto —” Hermione whispered, “expecto — expecto —” But she couldn’t do it. The Dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from us. They formed a solid wall around us, and were getting closer... “EXPECTO PATRONUM!” I yelled. “EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

My dragon was nowhere to be seen. I felt Hermione collapse next to us. A familiar darkness was closing in on us. I was leaving Harry alone... completely alone... I tried to stand up, but my energy was gone and I blacked out instead.

I’m sorry Harry, Sirius, Hermione, and Jacky.

&*&*

I know this is short, but that's why i'm uploading twice today.