"Think about everything he told us, Sirius was on the Seventh Floor, Thirteenth Window from the West Tower. Only way we can get up there fast enough to save him is with Buckbeak," Lucifer explained, trying to remain calm..
"Of course, that makes total sense! If we can manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle, Lucifer!" she said to him, in a very excited tone.
Lucifer thought back to that light he saw just before losing consciousness, "We will," he said.
"What makes you so sure?"
He looked at her, his eyes looking dead tired and bloodshot, "We don't have a choice. Just before I lost consciousness, I saw a blinding light on the opposite side of the lake, it must be what drove the Dementors off... it was a Corporeal Patronus... and I think-"
They were heading down the Stone steps when someone behind them was talking rather loudly.
It sounded like Fudge, but there was no way they were already heading down to Hagrid's, not enough time passed.
They darted off to the side, moved along the treeline, careful to avoid drawing attention.
When they got to Hagrid's Hut, they saw Buckbeak just laying there,
"Okay... remember that they saw Buckbeak?" Lucifer asked her, feeling the magic run course through his veins, trying to get rid of the parasitic thread inside.
"Yeah, they have to see Buckbeak is there, or they'll think Hagrid set him free," Hermione saw where he was going.
They went around back and saw their past selves in Hagrid's Hut through the window. "What were you about to say earlier?"
"It's not that important," he said, trying to play it off.
"Just tell me, please?" Hermione asked him, almost begging him.
"Well... the Patronus I saw... I think it was mine..." Lucifer said, realizing how ridiculous it actually sounded in his head, now that it was out in the open.
"What?" Hermione asked, but he'd have to save his explanation for later, because Dumbledore and the Ministry people were coming down the hill, "Why aren't we leaving?"
"Remember? Something caused me to see-" he started but Hermione had already picked up a rock.
She threw it, pretty accurately, and shattered a milk jug.
She picked up another and threw that one as well, almost pelting Lucifer right in the eye.
He reflexively put his hand up to catch the rock, "Thankfully my reflexes are doing well...."
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for that to-" she started.
"Doesn't matter, here we come!" Lucifer said urgently and moved Hermione back further into the treeline to avoid their past selves.
As they were hiding, Hermione couldn't help but notice something, "Has my hair always looked that bad from the back?"
Lucifer quickly pulled her back and behind the bush.
Hermione knew her cheeks were red as Lucifer had his hands around her midsection.
It was rough when he pulled her back, but it lessened into an almost sensual hold, Hermione thought.
She closed her eyes, trying to keep her hormones in check as this was not the time for them.
He suddenly let go of her, "Come on, Dumbledore and the Committee people are about to see Buckbeak."
She stood up with him and they approached their previous spot now that it was vacated.
Fudge had seen Buckbeak, as did Macnair, the guy with the big axe.
When they went inside, they approached Buckbeak, bowing before getting too close.
He bowed back and let them approach him.
"Come on, Buckbeak, I'm gonna free you, okay?" Lucifer said and carefully undid the leash that was attached to the post.
He pulled, but Buckbeak didn't budge, "Come on, you have to leave, they'll kill you if you don't!"
Still Buckbeak didn't budge.
He was about to try pushing, as dumb as that sounded, when Hermione came from nowhere, dead Ferrets hanging off of her.
She had one held out and Buckbeak stood up.
She tossed it to him and he snatched it out of the air with ease.
At that moment, the door to Hagrid's Hut opened, and out walked everyone inside.
Dumbledore came to their rescue by pointing out something on the opposite end of the grounds. Hermione shook another Ferret and they quickly led Buckbeak into the Forest.
Behind them, they heard Macnair raging and heard his axe go into something, "Pumpkins..."
"What?" Hermione asked.
"That's what we saw, he wasn't killing Buckbeak, he was axing a Pumpkin," Lucifer said, walking deeper into the Forest.
"Are you saying... that this is an infinite loop?" She asked him.
"Of sorts, I believe," they walked along the Forest edge and found a place to settle where they could watch the events outside the Whomping Willow unfold.
"That's also what I am trying to prevent on the copy I made of your Time-Turner...."
They tied Buckbeak to a tree, much to the annoyance of the Hippogriff.
To placate him, Hermione gave him the remaining four Ferrets.
"I see. Now we wait... it'll be a couple of hours until Sirius is in Flitwick's office," Hermione said, sitting down next to Lucifer.
She rested her head on his arm and was glad when he didn't shrug her off, "What were you saying, earlier that is? You said you saw your Patronus?"
"Yeah... I've never cast a Corporeal Patronus before... but I clearly have in the future, just less than two hours from now," Lucifer explained, glad she couldn't see his reddened cheeks.
"Given what you said about this potentially being an infinite loop... it kind of makes sense..." she trailed off.
They sat there a while and saw that their past selves came to the tree, Ron raging at their pets, just as Sirius showed up as a Dog.
He dragged Ron and soon after, Past Hermione, Harry and Lucifer all went down as well.
It wasn't long before Lupin showed up and went down beneath the tree as well, "If only he'd remembered his Potion, or picked up the Invisibility Cloak..." Lucifer sighed in defeat.
"Could have avoided that whole ordeal with Snape..." Hermione said, and when she said his name, she said it with venom laced in her voice.
"Why do you hate Snape all of a sudden? I mean, I know you never liked him before, but you're almost on my level of hate for him," Lucifer had noticed.
"He's the reason your ribs and stomach are hurting, I am almost sure of it," she was shaking as she lay against him, but not from the cold.
Her blood was practically boiling with rage.
She calmed down after a while, when Snape finally showed up, picking up the Cloak.
"I doubt the Minister will revoke your Adult Status, since Snape told him we were all Confunded... but he was surprised to hear about you attacking Snape," she explained.
"With Fudge, you just don't know... if I was Confunded, and that's what he believes, he doesn't have any probable cause to revoke it..." Lucifer sighed, he didn't want to use the harsher method like storming up to the Ministry of Magic.
They fell silent again for a while, and their past selves should be coming out from under the Whomping Willow soon.
"This summer... the World Cup will be happening..." she said as a Conversation starter.
"I'm excited for it. The moment I get to Diagon Alley, I'm buying a ticket. I'll buy you one, too, if you want?" Lucifer offered, he was a good boyfriend after all.
"Really? A-Are you sure?" She asked, not wanting to burden him with anything.
"Of course, I don't mind. I'm not extending that offer to anyone else, but it's there for you if you want to take it," Lucifer said just as past Hermione appeared.
"It's almost showtime, we should go to the lake," he said and stood up, about to make his way to the lake.
"Wait," Hermione said, standing up as well.
"What?" He turned to her.
"I think I know who howled to save our lives," she said and turned to run a good distance away from soon to be Werewolf Lupin.
Lucifer chased after her as best he could.
When he caught up to her, he stopped beside her.
She suddenly howled when Lupin was about to attack them, "What are you doing?!" He asked her.
"Saving our lives!" She howled again.
It worked and Lupin suddenly came charging in their direction.
"It almost worked... Come on!" Lucifer yelled and grabbed her wrist, dragging her with him in the opposite direction of the Werewolf.
They ran fast, faster than they thought they could, and hid around a tree, and it seemed to work, as they heard Lupin run right past them.
Hermione peeked the corner, but saw nothing.
They suddenly heard a growling behind them.
They turned and Lupin was standing about twenty feet away.
"Professor, I don't want to hurt you!" Lucifer said, his eyes beginning to glow red.
Lupin didn't yield, "But I will if I have to!" He reached behind him and moved Hermione directly behind him.
The action caused Lupin to attack.
He leaped at them, and Lucifer was close to hitting him with something more extreme, unsure if it would have seriously injured him or not.
Before he got the chance to, a massive Eagle came out of nowhere, talons extended, and caught Lupin.
The Eagle flew off and out of sight with the Professor.
'What the hell? That had to be someone who is an Animagus, but who?'
Hermione roared questionably inside her mind. "Was that an Animagus like Sirius?!" She asked frantically.
"No, it was just a random eagle....just being controlled..."
"That doesn't makes sense..." She was now confused, "So who was it?"
"I told her no-" they heard a yelping and whining in the distance.
"Sirius," Lucifer breathed out, "Get Buckbeak and meet me near the Lake's Edge opposite where we were!" He yelled and hurried off as fast as he could.
He soon made it to Lake's Edge just in time to see Hermione successfully cast a Patronus, "Nice job, Hermione..."
She came up behind him, re-tied Buckbeak to another tree and went to stand beside him, "What's just happened?"
"You just successfully cast a Non-Corporeal Patronus on your very first try. Very well done, Hermione," he said in praise.
"Oh... th-thank you... all I did was think of the time I saw you after I woke up from being Petrified... seeing you again... knowing that you solved it... that made me incredibly happy," Hermione chose to reveal this one instead to him.
"Did it really?" Lucifer asked and she nodded several times.
He turned back to the action unfolding before him.
Hermione just fainted and not long after, Harry went down as well, trying desperately to ward the Dementors off.
Lucifer had his wand clutched tightly in his hand. It was almost time.
"When are you going to do it?!" He heard Hermione ask with a sense of urgency.
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