Bella and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter Sixty

"Guys!"

Hermione was tugging at my sleeve, staring at her watch. 

"We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us - before Dumbledore locks the door -"

"OK," Harry said, looking away from the sky, "let's go..."

I nodded and with one last look at the sky, followed after them. We slipped through the doorway behind us and down a tightly spiralling staircase. As we reached the bottom of it, we heard voices. Quickly as we could, we flattened ourselves against the wall and listened carefully. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly 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 performed 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 Bella and Harry are back in their right minds, I expect they'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved them..."

I clenched my teeth. I caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed our hiding place. Their footsteps died away. We waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, then another, along a new corridor - then we heard a crackling ahead.

"Peeves!" I muttered, grabbing Harry's and Hermione's wrist. "In here!"

We tore into a deserted classroom to our left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in tearing spirits, laughing his head off.

"Oh, he's horrible," Hermione whispered, her ear to the door. "I bet he's all excited because the Dementors are going to finish Sirius..." She checked her watch. "Three minutes!"

We waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again. 

"Hermione - 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!" Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. "One minute!"

We had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance. "Ok - I can hear Dumbledore," I said tensely. "Come on!"

We crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared. 

"I am going to lock you in," we heard him saying. "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck"

Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door and took out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking, we ran fowards. Dumbledore looked up, a wide smile appeared under his long silver moustache. "Well?" he asked quietly. 

"We did it!" I said breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak..."

Dumbledore beamed at us.

"Well done. I think - " he listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone, too. Get inside -I'll lock you in -"

The three of us slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed. As the lock clicked behind us, we crept back to our own beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. Next moment, Madam Pomfrey had come striding back out of her office. 

"Did I hear the Headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

She was in a very bad mood. I thought it was best to accept my chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over the three of us, making sure we ate it. But I could hardly swallow. The three of us were waiting, listening, our nerves jangling...And then, as we each took our fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, we heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above us...

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey asked in alarm.

Now we could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam Pomfrey was staring at the door. 

"Really - they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"

I was trying to hear what the voices were saying. They were drawing nearer -

"He must have Disapparated, Severus, we should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out -"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO - WITH -POTTER - AND - HIS -DAUGHTER!"

"Severus - be reasonable - Bella and Harry have been locked up -"

BAM.

Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself. 

"OUT WITH IT, YOU TWO!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Professor Snape!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," Fudge said. "This door's been locked, we just saw -"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at me, Harry, and Hermione. His face was twisted, spit was flying from his mouth.

"Calm down, Man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER OR SWAN!" Snape shrieked. "THEY DID IT, I KNOW THEY DID IT -"

"That will do, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I've been with them ever since you left!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that these three are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behaviour, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," Fudge said, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him, if I were you, Dumbledore"

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," Dumbledore said quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment"

"He's not the only one!" Fudge puffed. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that Hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughing stock! Well...I'd better go and notify the Ministry..."

"And the Dementors?" Dumbledore said. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh, yes, they'll have to go," Fudge said, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent child...completely out of control...No, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight. Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance..."

"Hagrid would like that," Dumbledore said, with a swift smile at the three of us. As he and Fudge let the dormitory, Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.

There was a slow moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. I could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, looking around. 

"What - what happened?" he groaned. "Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

The three of us looked at each other. 

"You explain," Harry said, nodding at Hermione before helping himself to more chocolate. I chuckled and laid down, feeling tired. 

WE'RE REACHING THE END OF THIS BOOK!