.⊹⁀➷ CHAPTER NINE !
↳ ❛time travel❜

"SORRY ABOUT THE bite. I reckon that twinges a bit", Sirius apologized to Ron while they helped him through the secret passage.

Ron's voice was higher than usual, "A bit? A bit? You almost tore my leg off!"

Sirius gave him an apologetic smile, "I was going for the rat. Normally, I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. Infact more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent."

They stopped for a moment while Sirius looked at them, "The tail I could live with. But the fleas, they're murder."

When they finally got out of the passage, Sirius and Harry placed Ron onto a large stone.

"Okay."

The three teenagers sat down besides him, Annabeth gaze immediately wandering off to Sirius.

The man stood a couple of steps next to them, gazing over at the gigantic Hogwarts castle.

"You better go", Ron stated while he nodded towards Sirius. "No, don't worry, okay? It's fine I'll stay with you", Annabeth told him, but Hermione gave her and her brother a pointed look, "You two go, I'll stay."

Harry glanced at Ron curiously, "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Go!", the boy told them firmly. The two Potters nodded at him before they slowly approached their Godfather.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?", Sirius questioned them as soon as they came to a stand next to him.

The three all gazed up at the castle. "I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors", Sirius slightly smiled to himself, but his smile seemed sad."It'll be nice to do it again as a free man."

He then glanced at the two from the corner of his eyes. "That was noble thing you did there, Annabeth. He doesn't deserve it."

Annabeth's eyes remained on the castle while she answered him, "Well, I didn't think my dad would have wanted his two best friends to become killers."

Harry nodded quietly before he wrapped an arm around his sister, looking over at Sirius, "Besides, dead, the truth dies with him. Alive, your free."

Sirius remained silent before they were interrupted by Peters loud voice, "Turn me into a flobberworm. Anything but the Dementors!"

He crouched down beside Ron, fear in his eyes, "Ron! Have I not been a good pet? You won't let them give me to the Dementors will you? I was your rat!"

He then turned to Hermione, "Sweet, clever girl! Surely you won't-!"

Remus grabbed him by his arm and yanked him onto his feet, "Get away from her!"

Sirius turned back towards the castle, his voice calm, "I don't know if either of you know, but when you were born, James and Lily made me your godfather."

"We know", Harry stated while he gazed up at the man. Sirius didn't met their eyes, "I can understand if you choose to stay with your aunt and uncle- but if you two ever wanted a different home-"

"What? Come and live with you?", Harry questioned, a glimmer of hope glistening in his eyes.

"Well, it's just a thought. I can understand if you don't want to", Sirius told them, his eyes still fixed on the castle.

Annabeth broke into a grin, but before she could answer him, Hermione's screams cut through the air. "Harry! Annabeth!"

The three spun around in surprise and Hermione pointed at the full moon that had risen up into the dark night sky.

Lupin's eyes fell onto the moon almost immediately and in an instant, he fell into some sort of daze before he started to transform slowly.

"Remus, my old friend! Have you taken your potion tonight?", Sirius questioned the man while he came to help him.

Lupin started screaming in pain. Sirius held him in his arms, "You know the man you truly are, Remus! This heart is where you truly live! Here!" He pointed at Remus heart, "This flesh is only flesh!"

His wand fell out of his hand while Hermione and Harry helped Ron onto his feet in panic.

A wicked smile made it's way onto Peter's face. He quickly grabbed the wand and pointed it at Sirius, but Annabeth was quicker and disarmed him. "Expelliarmus!"

The wand flew out of the man's hand, but he smirked anyways, waving at them before he suddenly transformed into his rat form.

"No!", Annabeth wanted to follow after him, but Hermione pulled her back by her jumper. "Annabeth, no!"

Sirius didn't turn to face them while he screamed, "Run! Run!"

But after a second Remus had fully transformerd into a Werewolf and threw Sirius over the top of the hill.

"Come on!", Harry shouted loudly but Hermione stopped them from running.

"Wait!" She slowly approached Lupin, who was whimpering quietly. "Hermione, bad Idea!", Ron whispered loudly, but the girl ignored him, eyeing the Professor closely.

"Professor? Professor Lupin?"

The werewolf looked up and met her gaze, his golden eyes piercing through her brown ones.

Annabeth shook her head to herself, "That's not Professor Lupin." And right when she had finished her scentece, the werewolf let out a loud howl.

Hermione stumbled back towards her friends in shock. They all put their arms around each other, trying to shield them.

"Nice doggy. Nice doggy!"

Suddenly Snape climbed out of the hole and stepped infront of them, he grabbed Harry by the arm harshly, "There you are, Potter!"

But then he realized that something was moving behind him. Turning towards that something, he saw that Lupin was standing right behind them.

He then stood infront of the students, his arms streched out to shield them from the werewolve.

Lupin lunged at them, and they all fell backwards. The werewolfe then wanted to swing at th group with his large clows, but Sirius jumped at him from behind.

He had transformed back into a dog and the two began fighting each other before Sirius led him away from the five.

Harry immediately wiggled out of Snape's grip and so did Annabeth, following quickly after her brother.

"Sirius!"

"Come back here!", Snape shouted after them, but the two didn't stop. When they reached Sirius and Remus, Lupin was towering over the black dog.

Harry didn't waste a second before he threw a stone at Lupin head. The werewolf let out a angry roar before he approached the two dangerously.

Annabeth though, that was it. She would die, but in the last second she heard a howl coming from the woods.

That immediately caught Lupin's attention and after the second howl, the werewolf dashed off towards the woods.

Annabeth panted heavily, her heath beating heavily in her throat. Her gaze immediately snapped back to where Sirius had been and she saw how the man stumbled towards the edge tagtead down to the lake and fell.

The two made their way done towards where he had just been and saw Sirius laying by the edge of the lake.

Kneeling down beside him, they saw that the man was already nearly conciouse. "Sirius?!" He didn't respond to them and his eyes were closed.

"Annabeth, look!", Harry's voice spoke up from besides her. He pointed at the lake, which started to freeze.

Suddenly Sirius opened his eyes and screamed loudly, looking up into the sky.

Annabeth and Harry followed his gaze, realizing that the Dementors were flying above their heads.

One of them then approached them, sucking the happiness out of Sirius, who started screaming once more.

Annabeth pulled out her wand, "Expecto Patronum!"

The white light shot out of her wand, creating a force field to protect them from the Dementors.

But as soon as the first one hit the force filed, it disappeared, leaving them defenceless.

Annabeth moved her wand and wanted to try again, but she was already too late. A Dementor had approached them, immediately sucking the happiness out of them.

Annabeth immediately felt her body weakening, while the dark creature took a turn and came back for them.

Annabeth's body began to tense up when she felt the Dementors impact on her more and more.

At some point the brunette was so weak, that she fell to the ground besides Sirius, her eyes watching him, fear in them.

One of the Demenors flew over Sirius, making the man move one last time, before a small light, slowly floated out of his mouth.

Annabeth's breath hitched in her throat, while she watched her Godfather. It looked like his soul was about to leave his body. Like the life energy had left him.

Harry kneeled right besides her, panting heavily. Annabeth gaze wandered towards her brother, before she followed his gaze.

Looking over the frozen see, her eyes suddenly widened when she saw a Patronus in full form.

It was a gigantic, bright stag that looked at them. Annabeth slowly narrowed her eyes at the Patronus, ignoring the Dementors that had circled them, now floating in the air.

The brunette frowned when she realized that someone was standing behind the Stag. But in the same moment, a bright light came from the Stag, making the Dementors escape.

Annabeth's eyes traveled back towards Sirius, and the little bright light made it's way back into his mouth. The man deeply inhale, while his breath trembled.

Annabeth felt a wave of relief wash over her before her vision immediately went dark.

The girl immediately snapped up from her laying position, letting her gaze wander over her surroundings in fear.

She let out a deep breath, realizing that she was in the Hospital wing, with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"I saw our dad", Harry suddenly stated from besides her, making his sister look at him.

"What?"

"He sent the Dementors away. I saw him across the lake", he smiled at her happyly. Hermione, who stood in-between their beds frowned at him.

"Listen, they've captured Sirius. Any minute the Dementors are gonna perform the kiss", Hermione informed them, a troubled look on her face.

Harry immediately sat up in his bed, "You mean, they're gonna kill him?"

"No, it's worse. Much worse. They're going to suck out his soul", the girl explained to him.

Suddenly the door of the hospital wing burst open, revealing no other than Dumbeldor himself.

Hermione immediately approached the white haired man, "Headmaster, stop them! They've got the worng man!"

Harry and Annabeth jumped onto their feet, looking up at him, Harry's voice was loud when he spoke, "It's true. Sirius is innocent!"

"It's Scabbers who did it!", Ron's voice spoke up from behind them. He was laying in his bed, his foot bandage and propped up onto a pillow.

Dumbeldor seemed confused, "Scabbers?"

"He's my rat, sir. He's not really a rat. He was a rat. He was my brother Percy's rat. But then they gave him an owl-", Ron started to ramble before Annabeth interrupted him.

"The point is, we know the truth! Please, you have to believe us", she gazed up into the old man's eyes, a sorrowful look on her face.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke up, "I do, Miss Potter. But I"m sorry to say, but the word of four 13-year-old wizards will convince few others."

He had a apologetic look on his face before he slowly made his way past them and approached Ron.

"A childs voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who have forgotten how to listen", the Headmaster told them while he patted Ron's injured leg, making him nearly cry.

The man then gazed past them and pushed through the three teenagers. "Mysterious thing, time. Powerful and when meddled with, dangerous."

He stopped infront of the wooden door, not turning around to face them, "Sirius Black is in the topmost cell of the Dark tower."

He spun around and looked at the three with wide eyes, "You know the laws, Miss Granger. You must not be seen. And you would do well, I feel, to return before the last chime. If not, the consequences are too ghastly to discuss. If you succeed tonight- more than one innocent life may be speared."

He wanted to leave, but then he faced Hermione once more, "Three turns should do it, I think." He then spun on his heels and made his way out of the hospital wing.

But before he closed the doors completely, he stopped, "Oh, and by the way. When in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin. Good luck."

The doors then fell shut behind him, leaving the four alone in the Hospital wing.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?", Ron immediately questioned the other's with wide eyes.

"Sorry, Ron, but seeing as you can't walk-", Hermione apologized to him before she turned around to Harry and Annabeth.

The girl quickly placed something around them, that looked like some sort of golden necklace with a charm on it.

Harry stared at it interested before he tried to touch it. Hermione immediately slapped his hand away before she turned the charm three times.

Annabeth frowned when the charm suddenly stared spinning on it's own and their surroundings started to blur.

And then it suddenly stopped. Harry and Annabeth were very confused when Hermione stuffed the necklace back into her pockets.

"What just happened? Where's Ron?"

"7:30. Where were we at 7:30?", the girl questioned them, with a serious look on her face. Harry shrugged, still confused, "I don't know. Going to Hagrid's?"

Hermione quickly grabbed them both by one arm and dragged them after her. "Come on! And we can't be seen!"

The three then started running, through the back yard and over the wooden bridge that lead down to the woods.

"Hermione!? Hermione, wait! Hermione", Harry suddenly exclaimed at her, but she didn't stop.

"Hermione, will you please tell us what it is we're doing?", Annabeth then questioned the girl when they had nearly reached the hill.

The brunette girl peaked around the corner of the stone wall, and Harry and Annabeth did the same.

Annabeth's eyes widened when she saw her, her group of friends and the three Slytherin boys.

"Ah, come to see the show?", she could hear Malfoy's voice. "You foul, loathsome evile little cockroach!", she saw herself approached the blond boy in rage.

"That's us.", Harry spoke up from behind her in surprise. He took a step forward, "This is not normal!"

Hermione pushed him back into the tunnel, pulling out the necklace, "This is a Time-turner, Harry. McGonagall gave it to me first term. This is how I've been getting to my lesson all year."

Annabeth's eyes widened while she eyed the device in her friends hand, "You mean, we've actually gone back in time?"

"Yes. Dumbeldor wanted us to return to this moment", the girl told them before they contiued watching. "Clearly, something happened he wants us to change."

In this moment Annabeth punched Malfoy into his face, making him grunt loudly. Harry's voice spoke up from behind her again, "Good punch."

"Thanks", she smirked at him from the corner of her eye and Hermione chuckled quietly.

Suddenly she pushed them back into the tunnel, "Malfoy's coming." They quickly climbed over the windows, hiding behind the wall, waiting for them to pass.

"Mark my words!", Malfoy's voice slowly disappeared.

They slowly made their way past the stones, watching how they made their way down to Hagrid's.

They waited until they'd disappeared behind the hill before they slowly followed. "Look, Buckbeak's still alive!", Harry stated from besides them, a smile on his face.

Hermione quickly glanced at him, "Of course! Remember what Dumbeldor said? If we succeed, more than one innocent life could be speared."

She pushed last them, leading the way, "Let's go!"

They hurried their way down the hill, and hid behind the pile of pumpkins, watching themselves talk to Hagrid through the opened shack window.

The ravens were croaking while they jumped around Buckbeak and Annabeth inhaled deeply when she saw Dumbeldor, the Minister and the executer coming towards Hagrid's shack.

"Here they come. I'd better hurry", Harry stated before he got onto his feet, but Annabeth held him back. "No, wait! Remember, Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we steal him. Otherwise, he'll think Hagrid set him free."

They gazed back to the window and saw how Hagrid handed Ron the rat. "That's Pettigrew."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the rat before he tried to move once more. Hermione held him back again, "Harry, you can't."

"Hermione, that's the man who betrayed our parents! You can't expect me to sit here", the boy shot at her, rage in his voice.

She pulled them both along with her further towards the hut, "Yes, and you must! Both of you! 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. We can't be seen!"

The three adult wizard were coming closer, catching the teenagers' attention. "Fudge is coming."

She spun around to the hut, frowning, "And we aren't leaving. Why aren't we leaving?"

Annabeth watched how she grabbed one of the small stones that laid infront of her, throwing it through the widnow.

A vase bursted into pieces, making them hide more behind the pumpkins, "Are you mad!?"

Hermione did it one more time, hitting Harry into the back of his head. "Ow! That hurt!", the boy told her while he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry."

A moment passed by and then they saw how the two doors opened at the same time.

"We're coming out the back door. Go!", they quickly made their way into the edge of the woods, hiding behind the trees.

At the same time they could watched how their past-selves hid behind the pumpkins, watching the hut.

Hermione pushed one of the twigs aside, narrowing her eyes at herself. "Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?"

Suddenly the twig cracked, making a loud noise. The girl immediately hid behind the tree again, her breath getting caught in her throat.

They could hear Ron's voice, "What?" Hermione answered, "I thought I just saw- never mind."

"Let's go!"

The four friends disappeared, running up the hill while Harry, Annabeth and Hermione made their way over to the pumpkins.

"Okay, go Harry! Go!"

The boy quickly approached Buckbeak, tiptoeing through the ravens. Buckbeak now eyed him, the Hippogriff bowed down, which made Harry grabb the chain.

Suddenly the door opened a smudge, making them stop in their tracks, but then it closed again.

"Okay, Buckbeak. Come quickly, come with us now! Come on!", Harry tried to lure the creature to come with them. But the Hippogriff didn't move.

The two Potters contiued to try and get the Hippogriff to listen to them, while Hermione got a few dead ferrets for him.

"Come and get the nice dead ferrets" she stated while holding them up into the air. Buckbeak immediately got up, making Harry fall onto his back in surprise.

He quickly got up onto his feet before they slowly managed to get him further towards the woods.

The door suddenly opened once more, revealing Dumbeldor, the Minister and the executer, who gazes up towards the castle.

The three teenagers stopped in their tracks once more. Buckbeak snapped one of the ferrets out of Hermione's hands, making her gasp quiet before she held her hands up into the air.

Dumbeldor obviously tried to distract the Minister, while Harry and Annabeth started to pull Buckbeak again. "Come on, Buckbeak! Come on!"

Hermione held the ferrets up once more, helping the two to get Buckbeak into the woods.

As soon as they'd made their way into the woods, the three hid behind the trees with the Hippogriff.

The Minister turned and his eyes immediately went wide, "But where is it? I saw the beast just now!"

"How extraordinary!", Dumbeldor exclaimed while he followed the professor.

"Oh, come on, Dumbeldor! Someone's obviously released him", the Minister stated and the three teenagers watched them adult wizard's banter back and forth in anger and confusion.