Bella and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter Fifty Six

Writing this from my very uncomfortable hospital bed 👌

*****

Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain.

"Don't worry about that, we don't have much time," she said urgently, "come here, quick"

We moved towards her, completely bewildered. She was holding the chain out. I saw a tiny, sparkling hour-glass hanging from it.

"Here -"

She had thrown the chain around our necks, too.

"Ready?" She asked breathlessly

"What are we doing?" Harry asked, looking completely lost.

Hermione turned the hour-glass three times.

The dark ward dissolved. I had the sensation that I was flying, very fast, backwards. A blur of colours and shapes rushed past me; my ears were pounding. I tried to tell but couldn't hear my own voice -

And then I felt solid ground beneath my feet, and everything came into focus again -

I was standing next to Hermione with Harry on her other side in the deserted Entrance Hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. I looked wildly around at Hermione, the chain of the hour-glass cutting my neck.

"Hermione, what -?"

"In here!" Hermione seized mine and Harry's arms and dragged us across the hall to the door of a broom cupboard; she opened it, pushed us inside amongst the buckets and mops  followed us in then slammed the door behind us.

"What - how - Hermione, what happened?" Harry asked

"Yeah, what was that?" I also asked

"We've gone back in time," Hermjone whispered, lifting the chain off our necks in the darkness. "Three hours back..."

I found my own leg and gave it a very hard pinch. It hurt a lot, which seemed to rule out the possibility that I was having a very bizarre dream.

"But -" Harry started to say but Hermione cut him off.

"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think - I think it might be us!"

Hermione had her ear pressed against the cupboard door.

"Footsteps across the hall...yes, I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"

"Wait, let me get this straight," I whispered, "you're telling us that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there, too?"

"Yes," Hermione said, her ear still glued to the cupboard door. "I'm sure it's us...it doesn't sound like more than four people...and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak -"

She broke off, still listening intently while me and Harry stared at each other in shock.

"We've gone down the front steps..."

Hermione sat down on an upturned bucket; looking desperately anxious.

"Where did you get that hourglass thing?" Harry asked, breaking our gaze. Damn it, I like looking in his eyes.

"It's called a Time-Turner," Hermione whispered, "and I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I've been using it all year to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them that I was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies...I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see?"

"That's cool and all," Harry says smiling at Hermione, "but that doesn't explain what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

I stared at their shadowy faces.

"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," I said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago..."

"This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid's," Hermione said. "We've just heard ourselves leaving..."

I frowned; I felt as though I was screwing up my whole brain in concentration.

"Dumbledore just said - just said we could save more than one innocent life..." And then it hit me. "Guys, we're going to save Buckbeak!"

Harry looked at me. "But - how will that help Sirius?"

"Don't you see? Dumbledore said - he just told us where the window is - the window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak - they can escape together!"

From what I could see of their faces, Harry looked to be in all in, but Hermione looked terrified.

"If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!" She said.

"Well it's the only idea we've got so let's give it a try," Harry said. He tood up and pressed his ear against the door.

"Doesn't sound like anyones there...come on, let's go..."