Together we peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and me onto them. A fifth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved us away toward the castle.
"Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realises we're missing..."

We waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while the bush next to us whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, was ferreting for worms behind us.
"Do you reckon he's up there yet?" said Harry, checking his watch.
I looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.

"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"
I stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted in his belt.
"Macnair!" said Harry. "The executioner! He's gone to get the Dementors! This is it—"

I put my hands on Buckbeak's back, and Harry gave me a leg up, then Hermione did the same. Harry then placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush, and climbed up in front of me. He pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins.
"Ready?" he whispered to Hermione and me. "You'd better hold on to me—"
He nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.
Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. I could hear Hermione muttering, "Oh, no — I don't like this — oh, I really don't like this—" from behind me.

"Harry," I said suddenly, "how are we going to fit four of us on Buckbeak at the same time? It's hard enough with the three of us..."
"No idea," he replied. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
He urged Buckbeak forward. We were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle... Harry pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. I was trying to count the windows flashing past—

"Whoa!" Harry said, pulling backward as hard as he could.
Buckbeak slowed down, and we found themselves at a stop, unless you counted the fact that we kept rising up and down several feet as the Hippogriff beat his wings to remain airborne.
"He's there!" Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window. He reached out, and, as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.

Sirius looked up. I saw his jaw drop. He leapt from his chair, hurried to the window, and tried to open it, but it was locked.
"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of my robes with her left hand.
"Alohomora!"
The window sprang open.
"How — how—" said Sirius weakly, staring at the Hippogriff.

"Get on — there's not much time," said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here — the Dementors are coming — Macnair's gone to get them."
"Harry, there's no room," said Hermione anxiously. "If anyone else gets on, the person at the back's going to fall straight off!"

We all stayed still and silent for a moment, panicking.
"Harry, where's your Firebolt?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"In the broom shed, but there's not enough time to—"
Before he'd even finished his sentence, I summoned the broomstick, and it flew over to us, hovering at our side.
"Harry, you go on the Firebolt," I said quickly. "I'll take over Buckbeak."

Harry clambered onto his broom as fast as he possibly could without falling straight off it again, then he passed Buckbeak's makeshift reigns to me. Hermione and I carefully slid forwards. Sirius placed a hand on either side of the window frame, and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the Hippogriff behind Hermione.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" I said, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower — come on."
The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings, and we were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower, Harry flying alongside us on the Firebolt. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Hermione and I slid off him at once. Harry was already there, waiting.
"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," he panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."
Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.

"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" croaked Sirius.
"He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick — go—"
But Sirius was still staring down at Harry.
"How can I ever thank—"
"GO!" Harry, Hermione and I shouted together.

Sirius wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.
"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are — truly your father's son, Harry..."
He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry, Hermione, and I jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more... the Hippogriff took off into the air... he and his rider became smaller and smaller as I gazed after them... then a cloud drifted across the moon... they were gone.

"Harry! Ivory!"
Hermione was tugging at each of our sleeves with one hand and 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—"
"Okay," said Harry. "What about my broom?"
I held out my hand. He passed it to me, and with a wave of my hand, I sent it back to the broom shed.
"Let's go."