Astra || H. Potter [1]

[17] A powerful Wizard

[Outfit Above]

I looked towards the hill where Fudge and the others were drawing closer, turning back towards the hut I noticed that we all were still there. "Why aren't we leaving?" Hermione looked down and grabbed a small stone and before Harry or I could stop her she jumped up and threw it through the open window. We could hear the smack of the same glass jar shattering. "Are you mad?" Harry quipped but Hermione only ignored him and followed suit by whistling another rock through the window that hits the back of Harry's head.

Rubbing the back of his head absentmindedly Harry groaned "That hurt." Not taking her eyes off of the hut Hermione muttered a small 'Sorry'. Fudge and the group had finally arrived at the door and they knocked and quickly entered. "Come on we're about to be leaving out through the back door." The three of us dashed into the trees behind just in time to see our past selves run out of Hagrids and behind the pumpkins.

Hermione's head tilts to the side as she looks at the back of her head in wonder "Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?" I chuckled silently in amusement but that stopped right when Fudge, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and the executioner came back outside. Dumbledore quickly distracted Fudge so we could swoop in. "Come on while they're distracted ''

I quietly ran forward and grabbed onto Buckbeak's chain attempting to lead him back with me into the forest and away from prying eyes but he refused to move. "Come Buckbeak...please" I looked behind him and saw Dumbledore still trying to keep Fudge distracted but I knew it wouldn't last long. "Look there" Dumbledore instructed Fudge as he gestured back towards the castle with his hand.

"Where?" Fudge questioned and the long-bearded man pointed to a certain area around the castle. "There beyond the raft. Professor Dippet had that wing guarded when he was Headmaster..." The stubborn Hippogriff continued to fight me, that was until Hermione appeared beside me with a few dead ferrets wrapped around her. She tossed one to Buckbeak who happily caught and ate it, he started to let me lead him away as long as Hermione kept feeding him.

"Oh yes, indeed, indeed. Let's get this over with, shall we?" We managed to get Buckbeak into the woods just in time for when they turned around and found him missing. "But... where is it? I just saw the beast not moments ago." I peaked beyond a tree with Buckbeak behind me nipping at another ferret around Hermione. The bushy-haired girl scoffed and shook her hand shooing Buckbeak away making him grumble in response.

I took one of the ferrets off of her and handed it to Buckbeak letting him snack happily as I petted his head soothingly. "How extraordinary!" I looked back towards the hut at Dumbledore's amusement "Come now, Dumbledore. Someone's obviously released him." Fudge implied while sending a glare towards Hagrid whose eyes widened in surprise.

"Professor, I swear! I didn't!" Dumbledore shook his head reassuringly towards the burly man. "I'm quite sure the Minister isn't suggesting that you had anything to do with it, Hagrid. How could you? You've been with us all along." Fudge spun around and sputtered out a response. "Well-well, we must search the grounds."

"Search the skies if you must, Minister. In the meantime, I'd like a nice cup of tea. Or...a large brandy." Hagrid grinned towards the headmaster and watched as he turned towards the executioner. "Oh, executioner...It seems your services will no longer be required." Hagrid and Dumbledore retreated into the hut leaving an angry Fudge and Executioner alone.

I gripped onto Buckbeak's chain and started to take him with me deeper into the darkening forest with Hermione and Harry on either of my sides. We got to a sort of clearing in the woods where I let Buckbeak go and stood next to Hermione as Harry looked at both of us expectantly. "Now what?"

Hermione and I glanced at each other and back to Harry. "We save my Uncle Sirius" I pet Buckbeak once more before dashing up the hill with my two best friends following behind me "And we do that... how?" I shrugged nervously as we ran. "That I'm not sure of yet" Racing through the tall trees until we came into the clearing by the whomping willow. We came to a stop and Hermione pointed towards the hole beneath the old tree. "Look. It's your dad Ophelia."

I watched my father intently as he picked up a stick and used it to poke a knot on the trunk of the tree causing it to stop thrashing around letting him safely enter the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack. "Wait until Fred and George hear about that one." Harry mused with his eyebrows risen in surprise. I shifted my eyes down the hills to another dark figure that followed my father into the willow. "There goes, Snape"

Harry sighed after my quiet depiction "And now we wait." He slowly sat down with his legs out in front of him leaving Hermione and me to follow suit. I sat down on a soft patch of grass between the two and pulled my knees up closer to my chest. "Now we wait." Hermione repeated softly in the still dusk air. I rested my chin on top of my crossed arms and stared off into the starry night sky becoming lost in my thoughts.

Would we be able to save Sirius? Would he ever become a free man that I would be able to know? One that I could learn from, one that would be able to fill the missing piece of family in my life. No one would ever replace my mother in my heart but he as her twin is the closest I will ever get to meeting her. The loud flaps and screeches from bats flying around us broke me from my deep mind, I looked over my shoulder and saw Buckbeak happily snaking on the creatures.

"Least someone's enjoying himself." Harry glanced at Buckbeak for a moment before facing the hills again. "Yeah.." He agreed softly before he glanced at Hermione and I. "Ophelia...Hermione.." The two of us looked up and towards the blue-eyed boy speaking at the same time. "Yeah?"

"Before. Down by the lake. When I was with Sirius. I did see someone...that someone made the Dementors go away..." He trailed off unsure of himself and how he sounded with this new revelation. Hermione nodded as she turned her body to the right so she could face him better. "With a Patronus. I heard Snape telling Dumbledore about it. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it."

I looked from Hermione and over towards Harry who held a wide smile on his face "It was my Dad. It was my Dad who conjured the Patronus." My brows knitted sympathetically "Harry.." Hermione side-eyed me but focused back on the raven-haired boy. "But, Harry, your Dad's..." Harry looked past me straight to Hermione "Dead. I know." He snapped "I'm just telling you what I saw." Hermione nodded and simply backed off not wanting to upset him further while I reached for Harry's hand, giving it a soft squeeze telling him I understood.