I HAVE A DUCKTAIL!

AND THEN IT ALL STOPPED AS SUDDENLY AS IT BEGAN, and Hermione pulled the necklace off. Harry looked around the now-empty Hospital Wing, searching for their friend. "What happened? Where's Ron?"

But Hermione didn't answer, instead looking at the clock on the wall. "Seven thirty. Where were we at seven-thirty?" she asked.

"Going to Hagrid's," Ivy told her, earning a nod. She may have been amazed at what had just happened but she also knew there wasn't time to ask a hundred different questions.

"Come on," Hermione said, dragging both Ivy and Harry out. "And we can't be seen!"

"Hermione!" Harry tried to call as they ran through the castle. Ivy simply took his hand and pulled him faster. "Ivy! Hermione, wait! Hermione, will you please tell me what it is we're doing!"

They came to a sudden stop outside, hiding behind a stone wall. Harry cut himself off as he spotted an oddly familiar sight below. Draco and his goons laughing about Buckbeak's execution as the other four came across them.

"But that's us," Harry mumbled in disbelief. "This is not normal."

Before Harry could move out of their hiding space, Hermione pulled him back. She then pulled the necklace back out from her jacket. "This is a Time-Turner, Harry. McGonagall gave it to me first term. This is how I've been getting to my lessons all year."

"I thought I'd only ever see these in books," Ivy breathed out.

"You mean we've gone back in time?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she told him. "Dumbledore obviously wanted us to return to this moment. Clearly, something happened that he wants us to change."

Hermione turned back to the scene below just as her past self reared back and punched Draco in the face. "Good punch," Harry complimented.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at the scene.

"Did you have to heal him, V?" Harry asked, pouting slightly.

Ivy rolled her eyes and was going to respond, but then Draco and his friend ran away, right toward them. "Malfoy's coming!" Hermione hissed. She pulled the two of them out of the way, hiding as the three Slytherins passed. Crouching low to avoid being seen, they watched their past selves head down to Hagrid's hut.

"Look," Harry said, looking down the hill at the pumpkin patch. "Buckbeak's still alive."

"That must be what Dumbledore meant," Ivy said, grinning. "That thing he said about more than one innocent life being spared."

"Of course," Hermione said, just as pleased. "Let's go."

Once outside Hagrid's hut, they found a hiding spot behind a stack of pumpkins. Buckbeak was sitting only a few feet away from them as their past selves spoke with Hagrid inside. Harry looked over his shoulder at the path leading up to the castle, seeing Dumbledore, Fudge, and the Executioner heading down.

"Here they come. I'd better hurry," he said, making his move. However, Hermione grabbed him, keeping him in place. Both he and Ivy looked at her, alarmed.

"Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we steal him," she explained quietly. "Otherwise, he'll think Hagrid set him free."

"Of course," Ivy whispered, knowing she had the best plan.

Then they looked in Hagrid's open window just as he handed Scabbers over to Ron. "That's Pettigrew," Harry said darkly.

Both girls recognized the determined look in his eyes. "Harry, you can't!" Hermione said, grabbing his arm to keep him in place once more.

"Hermione, that's the man who betrayed my parents. You don't expect me to just sit here."

"Yes, and you must!" Ivy said, pulling him down harshly. They then moved to a better hiding spot so that the approaching officials wouldn't spot them.

"Harry, you're in Hagrid's hut now. If you just go bursting in, you'll think you've gone mad. Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time, Harry," Hermione warned. "We can't be seen."

"Mione," Ivy whispered, looking in the window at the rat once more. "How fast do you reckon garden rats can run?"

She gave her a puzzled look. "I'm not sure. Probably no more than thirteen, fourteen kilometers per hour. If you're thinking about going after him, I've seen you run. You're awfully slow."

"I can catch him," Ivy said, no doubt in her tone. She may not have been a fast human, but she was certainly speedy as a rabbit — certainly faster than fourteen kilometers.

Hermione wanted to question her, but then she noticed how far the others were getting. "Fudge is coming, and we aren't leaving. Why aren't we leaving?"

Then the young witch looked down and spotted a very familiar rock. She picked it up and lobbed it through the window, breaking the flour vase on the table. All three of them ducked to avoid being seen.

"Are you mad?" Harry whispered sharply.

"Sorry Harry," Ivy mumbled before grabbing a rock herself. She threw it directly at the back of past Harry's head, meeting her target.

The Harry next to her winced and rubbed the back of his head, which was still sore. "Ow. That hurt."

"I said sorry," she said, grimacing. Then she kissed the top of his head as if that'd make it feel better. "But it worked."

Their past selves had seen Fudge and the Executioner and knew it was time to leave. They snuck out just as Hagrid let the others in.

"We're coming out the back door. Go!" Hermione said, nudging Ivy and Harry into the trees to hide. They hid behind a tree and watched as their past selves crouched behind some pumpkins.

Ivy peered at herself through the branches, leaning closer. "My shirt isn't tucked into my skirt. Why didn't any of you tell me? I have a ducktail—"

"Ivy!" Harry hissed quietly. He pulled her back to try and silence her, and in the process, one of them stepped on a branch. They pressed tightly against the tree, trying to not be seen as Hermione's past self looked at their hiding place.

"What?" they heard Harry ask.

"I thought I just saw..." And then Hermione trailed off. Whether she had suspected herself of using the Time-Turner or not, she decided not to question it. Then Ron was insisting that they leave. Once it was clear, Hermione, Harry, and Ivy rushed out of their hiding spot.

Making sure that Fudge and the Executioner were still busy inside, Hermione nodded to Harry. "Okay, go, Harry. Go!"

He crept around the punkins and over to Buckbeak. He bowed low, and Buckbeak bowed back almost lazily, going back to snacking on his ferret. Harry unchained Buckbeak from the post, getting a few pecks from some angry crows in the process. Thankfully, no one came out of Hagrid's hut due to some lengthy conversation on Dumbledore's part.

"Okay, Buckbeak. Come quickly," Harry whispered, gently pulling on his chains. "Come with us now, okay? Come on."

But the Hippogriff wouldn't budge. Why would he? He had a comfy spot on the warm ground.

"Keep trying," Hermione said as Harry continued to pull on the chains. Buckbeak grunted and pulled in the opposite direction, wanting Harry to knock it off.

Suddenly, Ivy was by Harry's side and holding up a dead ferret. She didn't even have to say the Hippogriff's name to get his attention. He was already getting to his feet, and she tossed the first ferret into the air, which he caught in his mouth and scarfed down.

"Come on," she whispered, waving another one as she backed toward the trees. "It's here. Come on, Beaky! You're just like all the other hungry little Hufflepuffs."

However, Ivy froze as Fudge and Dumbledore stepped outside. Thankfully, Dumbledore was pointing at something in the opposite direction, keeping everyone distracted. Buckbeak leaned forward and snatched the ferret out of Ivy's hand, slightly nipping her fingers.

"Come on, Buckbeak," Ivy said, her voice barely audible. She fled into the woods with Harry leading Buckbeak by his chain. They made it through the cover of the trees just as Fudge turned around.

"But where is it?" he asked dumbly, looking at the empty pumpkin patch. "I saw the beast just now. Not a moment ago!"

"How extraordinary," Dumbledore muttered, his hands behind his back.

Harry, Hermione, and Ivy watched from the trees as they tried to find the Hippogriff. Ivy was distracted though by Buckbeak, who was still trying to eat the ferrets she had. She gave another, hoping it would keep him quiet.

With Hagrid being inside the whole time, Fudge had no choice but to excuse Hagrid for Buckbeak's escape. They all grinned happily as they led Buckbeak deeper into the woods and farther away from the Executioner's axe.

Leading him with the remaining ferrets, they found Buckbeak a safe hiding spot close to the Whomping Willow so that they could keep an eye out. As soon as Ivy dropped the dead animals, the Hippogriff followed, sitting in front of them and pecking at the snacks.

"Now what?" Harry asked. Ivy wiped her hands covered in ferret blood on his jacket, but he didn't have time to complain.

"We save Sirius," Hermione said, walking with purpose.

"How?" he asked.

"No idea," she admitted.

"Brilliant," Ivy muttered.

The three of them rushed to the Whomping Willow, making sure to keep far enough away. They arrived just as Remus had, crawling through the entrance at the base of the tree.

"Look. It's Lupin," Hermione pointed out.

"He must have been so concerned with Pettigrew that he forgot to take his potion before leaving the castle," Ivy mumbled. She had hated seeing her teacher in such a helpless state and dreaded seeing it again when they came back.

"And Snape's coming," Hermione said, watching his figure dart across the grass.

"And now we wait," Harry said.

Hermione nodded. "And now we wait."

The three of them sank to the grass, Ivy in the middle. Both thirteen-year-olds rested their heads on her shoulder. The exhaustion had set in a long time ago, but none of them complained, knowing saving Sirius was more important than sleep.

"Ivy, do you really think you can catch Pettigrew if we go after Sirius?" Harry asked, looking up at her slightly.

"Wait a minute," Hermione said, frowning. "I - I forgot about it because of all that was happening, but you said something to Lupin about you not being the first Animagus to offer and help him on the full moon. Are you... you're an Animagus? Unregistered?"

Ivy sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "Bunny rabbits are quite fast. Once they come out, I'll sneak over and go after Pettigrew. I won't let myself see me, not even in rabbit form."

"Wow," Harry said, his eyes wide. "I can't believe you'd break such a huge rule. But that's sort of neat that it matches your Patronus."

"Well, a Patronus can always change, but not an Animagus form," she explained. "You'd probably know that if you paid attention in your classes sometimes."

"I pay attention," he defended.

"No, you don't," Hermione chimed in, managing a smile. Then it slipped as she focused back on the task at hand. "Ivy, when you catch Pettigrew, you still have to be careful. It's probably best for you to bring him up to the same tower that Sirius is being kept at. That way we can swap them out. After Fudge sees Pettigrew, I suspect they'll have a trial and question both him and Sirius with a truth potion."

"They should've done that the first time," Ivy mumbled. But there was nothing they could do about the faults in a twelve-year-old investigation. "I'll miss Snuffles, but it's far better that he won't have to hide anymore."

After a moment, Harry laughed to himself a bit. "You know, the thought of you keeping my Godfather as a pet for the last year is funny, but he told me just before Pettigrew escaped that he didn't know if he'd have survived on the run without you taking care of him. He didn't get a chance to thank you."

"I don't need a thank you," she said, shrugging. Really, Ivy still wasn't sure how to feel about Snuffles being a real person — she's sure she'd figure it out once everything calmed down. "I'm just glad my kindness paid off. The guilt would've eaten me alive if I really was helping a murderer."

"Never stop being your kind self," Hermione said, smiling at him. "I don't know what we'll do next term without our favorite Flufflepuff."

Ivy giggled as she adopted Val's nickname for her. "Oh, you'll all be getting letters from me every week."

"And if we pull this off, you can visit me every day this summer," Harry said, smiling. "No stupid Dursleys to keep you away."

"Yeah. No stupid Dursleys," Ivy repeated, smiling.

As the three of them continued to wait, the bats in the forest began waking up for the night. They swarmed all over, and Ivy hid under Harry's arm to keep them out of her hair — though it didn't help much as her hair was already a tangled mess. They looked back at Buckbeak, who was busy snatching bats out of the air and eating them.

"Someone's enjoying himself," Hermione said, watching the Hippogriff.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. Then he looked back at the Whomping Willow. "Hermione? Ivy?"

"Yeah?" they both asked.

"Before... down by the lake, when I was with Sirius, I did see someone," he told them. He was nervously looking at the ground, expecting for them to not believe him. "That someone made the Dementors go away."

"With a Patronus," Ivy told him. "We overheard Professor Snape telling Dumbledore. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it. I certainly couldn't have chased off so many Dementors with mine."

"It was my dad," Harry declared, sounding so sure of himself. "It was my dad who conjured the Patronus."

Hermione shot Ivy a worried look. "But Harry, your - your dad's—"

"Dead. I know!" he snapped. But then he calmed down. "I'm just telling you what I saw."

Ivy placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, and he reached up to hold it. "Time will tell."

A moment later, Hermione sat forward, her eyes glued to the tree. "Here we come." The three of them got to their feet and watched as themselves, Ron, and Sirius exited the tunnel. Then Sirius walked off, and Harry followed.

"You see Sirius talking to me there?" Harry asked them. Both girls nodded. "That's when he's asking me to come and live with him."

"Like we said," Ivy said, grinning. "No more stupid Dursleys."

"It'll just be me and him," he said, hopeful for their future as a family. "We could live in the country — someplace you can see the sky. I think he'll like that after all those years in Azkaban."

"Pettigrew is coming out," Ivy said, taking her hand out of Harry's. "I'm going to sneak around the other side of the tree. Please be careful, you two."

"Good luck," Hermione said, "and don't be seen."

Ivy ran through the dark, making sure to keep low and out of sight of the others. She reached the back side of the Whomping Willow just as Hermione yelled out for Harry as Remus began his transformation. And that was just the distraction that Pettigrew needed.

As soon as Pettigrew began to shrink, Ivy followed suit, her body morphing into that of a small, white, rabbit. The rat took off down the hill, and Ivy ran after him. She was faster, but he managed to get a head start as the Werewolf came across Ivy's path.

For a moment, she watched, horrified as he threw Sirius in his dog form into a tree. But she reminded herself that all of that had already happened and he would survive.

Focusing back, paying no mind to the odd howling sound that was coming from the woods, she spotted the gray rodent getting further and further away. But Hermione was right — rats could run no more than about fourteen kilometers per hour. Rabbits could move much faster.

Ivy chased him quickly, no doubt resembling how lightning fast her Patronus had moved around the History of Magic classroom that one day. She caught up to Pettigrew in a field and launched at him, catching his tail in her small mouth.

He squealed and tried to pull away, but she kept ahold of him, even as she transformed back into herself. Holding him upside down by his tail, Ivy glared at him. The rat thrashed violently, but she did not let him go.

Not even when hundreds of Dementors flew overhead, distracting her. They were headed to the Black Lake. To Harry and Sirius.

Instead of holding him the whole time, Ivy transfigured a nearby rock into a small, metal cage with bars too thin for him to slip through so that she could transport Pettigrew. She dropped the rat inside and locked the door. He frantically scurried around, searching for a way out, but there was none.

"Let's go get my dog back," Ivy said, more to herself than to Pettigrew.

The rat continued to squeal the entire time as Ivy ran to the castle. She snuck through the corridors, careful to not be seen on the way to the Dark Tower. Because she was on foot, it meant that Hermione and Harry had already beat her there, as they had flown to the tower on Buckbeak.

"Where's Ivy?" Harry asked, looking around.

"She's helping you?" Sirius asked, stepping out of his cell. "Why'd you split up?"

"Y - you don't think Pettigrew hurt her, do you?" Hermione asked fearfully.

Ivy then rounded the corner, catching her breath from running. "Now, I may be a Flufflepuff but I'm tougher than I look." Everyone sighed in relief as they spotted her. As she walked over to their little group, she held out the cage with a proud grin. "I come bearing gifts."

"You're bloody amazing," Sirius breathed out, looking from the cage to her.

She smiled softly from the praise before walking over to the cell they had broken Sirius out of. The smile slipped when she saw the lock had been blasted off. "You know, Alohamora would've worked just as well," she complained.

Then she set the cage in the cell and shut the door. After fixing the lock, she pointed her wand at the rat and muttered the Homorphus charm to force Pettigrew back into his human form. She also cast an invisible barrier over to bars to make sure he couldn't slip through as a rat once the Homorphus charm wore off. Ivy ignored his pathetic pleas to be freed and turned to the others, smiling at them triumphantly.

"I'll be forever grateful for this," Sirius told them. "All three of you."

"We need to be getting back," Hermione said quietly. It wouldn't be long before the midnight bell began to chime. "And we've still got to get Buckbeak back to the forest."

"Is Sirius just meant to wait here?" Harry asked, looking at his Godfather with a worried expression.

"I don't think anyone would take too kindly to me roaming the castle in search of the Minister," he said, chuckling. "I'll stay here with Pettigrew. They'll take both of us into custody, but once Pettigrew reveals the truth, I will be a free man once more."

"Well, we had to brew Veritaserum as a part of our potions exam, so I know there's plenty of it," Ivy stated. "There's no excuse for you to not go free tonight. Professor Lupin can wake up to the exciting news. Might make him feel better."

"Come on," Hermione told them. She moved to check on Buckbeak, hoping he wouldn't mind flying with three people on his back. Harry soon followed after hugging Sirius goodbye.

"I, uh, suppose I won't be bringing you breakfast in the morning," Ivy said, an awkward smile making its way onto her face.

"Damn," Sirius said, sighing a bit dramatically. "I was getting spoiled by those strawberry turnovers."

"Good luck, Snuffles," she said, turning to join the others.

"Ivy," Sirius called suddenly. She looked at him over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "The back of your shirt's not tucked into your skirt."

Ivy scoffed and faced Harry, who was snickering into his hand. She lightly shoved him towards Buckbeak. "You're lucky I love you, HJ."

After fixing her attire, Harry helped pull her onto Buckbeak's back. With a final wave to Sirius, the three of them flew from the Dark Tower. Hermione may have hated the feeling of flying, but Ivy loved it and she spread her arms wide, squealing happily.

But soon, the fun had to end. They raced against the clock to return Buckbeak to his hiding spot and make it back to the castle. As the midnight bell began to sound, they ran even faster. And then just as they came around the corner that led to the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore stepped out, shutting the doors behind him.

The Headmaster looked unsurprised as he saw the three students he had just left behind, now slightly more disheveled. "Well?"

"I believe you'll be wanting to make your way to the Dark Tower, Headmaster," Ivy said, catching her breath. "You'll find something — someone — rather surprising."

"I'm sure I don't know to what you are referring, but it can't help to take a nightly stroll," he said. And then he waved at them leisurely. "Good night."

"He's so odd," Ivy mumbled, shaking her head.

Then the three of them ran into the Hospital Wing. The doors opened just as their past selves were disappearing. Ron sat up looking between the spot they had disappeared at and the entrance. "How did you get there?" he asked, pointing accusingly at them. "You were — I was talking to you there! And now you're there!"

"What's he talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked, playing dumb. Ivy had a hard time fighting a smile as the boy played into it.

"I don't know," he said, sounding concerned. "Honestly, Ron, how can somebody be in two places at once?"

And then the three of them started laughing, adding to Ron's confusion. Finally, Ivy calmed down and swatted at Harry and Hermione's shoulders before moving to Ron's side. "Honestly, you two are too mean to him."

"Thank you. Finally getting the respect I deserve," Ron said, puffing out his chest. "Seriously though, Ivy, what the bloody hell just happened?"

"Can I take a nap first?"