"'The Committee's appointed executioner shall dispatch the condemned by means of beheading...'"

"C'mon, Buckbeak. Come on." Buckbeak refused to move. Olivia groaned and looked around for the meat.

"'As witnessed below.' You sign here, Hagrid. Very well, gentlemen. Let's step outside, shall we..." The Hogwarts bell began to toll. Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. Harry tugged harder. No go.

"Excuse me, Minister. I believe I must sign as well..." Harry pulled at the chain and strained mightily when Hermione popped up and bowed quickly. Dangles a dead ferret before Buckbeak.

"Here, Beaky... Come and get the nice dead ferret... yum yum..." Harry looked at her as if she's mad, but it was working.

As Buckbeak trotted after and the cawing crows scattered. Harry, Olivia, and Hermione lead Buckbeak away when the back door suddenly opened.

They froze as Fudge's eyes drifted their way. When Dumbledore raised his hand and directing the attention of the others away from Buckbeak. "Professor Dippet had those blackberries planted when he was Headmaster..."

Harry, Olivia, and Hermione shooed Buckbeak along. They disappeared into the forest just as Dumbledore concluded his reverie.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Harry and Hermione view was not unobstructed by the low standing of trees. This time they watched the Executioner approach the pumpkin patch and stop.

Quickly, the confusion in his masked eyes turned to anger. "But... where is it? I just saw the beast not moments ago -- Hagrid?"

"Beaky..." Hearing Hagrid's husky voice Buckbeak strained at his tether and whimpered eerily.

Hermione tossed him another ferret.

"How extraordinary!" Dumbledore said with a hint of amusement.

"Come now, Dumbledore. Someone's obviously released him."

"Professor, I swear! I didn't!"

"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." Olivia giggled as she watched what was going down.

"We should search the grounds —" Olivia looked at Buckbeak who nipped at her hand.

"Search the skies if you must, Minister. In the meantime, I wouldn't say no to a cup of tea, Hagrid. Or... a large brandy." He turned to the Executioner. "It seems your services will no longer be required."

The Executioner lifted his blade and with a brutal fury plunged it into the flesh of a pumpkin with a sickening chop. The crows scattered to the skies.

Harry, Olivia, and Hermione raced through the trees as Buckbeak lopped easily behind.

"Now what?" Harry asked as they took a break.

"We save Sirius." Olivia told him and Harry looked at her.

"And we do that, how?" Olivia shrugged and looked at Buckbeak.

"No idea." Hermione disappeared down the hole. As a figure approached the tree. It was Lupin.

"Look. It's Lupin." As the Whomping Willow began to thrash, its violence oddly muted at this distance. Lupin took a stick and pokes a knot on the trunk. Instantly, the Willow calmed.

"Wait until Fred and George hear about that one." Olivia giggled, but stopped as someone else walked to the tree.

"Here comes Snape." As Lupin disappeared into the gap at the base of the tree, Snape made his way down the slope.

"And now we wait."

"Now we wait." Olivia repeated just as Buckbeak snagged another ferret. A tail twitched briefly between his beak, then is gone. "'Least someone's enjoying himself."

Harry, Olivia, and Hermione sat together in the lengthening shadows. Harry snapped off a piece of chocolate and handed it to Hermione.

Olivia rolled her eyes and she leaned back on Buckbeak. She took out her own thing of chocolate.

"Hermione." Olivia looked over to her brother.

"Yes?"

"Before. Down by the lake. When I was with Sirius and Olivia.., I did see someone... that someone made the Dementors go away..." Olivia listened closely. She couldn't remember what had happened.

"With a Patronus. I heard Snape telling Dumbledore when we were taken to the hospital. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it."

"It was my Dad." Hermione and Olivia looked at Harry. "It was my Dad who conjured the Patronus."

"But, Harry, your Dad's..." Olivia got up and walked over to Harry.

"Dead. I know. I'm just telling you what I saw." Hermione nodded, not wanting to press Harry further. She glanced beyond the trees and toward the Whomping Willow.

"Here we come." Shadows emerged under a full moon Black, Harry, Pettigrew, Lupin, Hermione, Ron, Olivia and a sleepwalking Snape. Harry studied himself and Sirius.

"You see Sirius talking to me and Olivia walked over? He's asking me to come live with him." Olivia laid her head on his shoulder.

"Really?" Harry nodded his voice wistful.

"When we free him, I'll never have to go back to the Dursley's. I'm going to tell him I'd like to live someplace in the country. I think he'd like that, after all those years in Azkaban. We don't need a big place and I can help him..." A howl pierced the night. Hermione glanced toward the Willow.

"It's happened. Lupin's transformed."

"Which means Pettigrew is slipping safely into the night. While we just stand here..." A fierce growl is heard as twin silhouettes the dog and werewolf bound into the tall grass.

Harry watched himself appear and hurled the stick as before. The werewolf turned and began to stalk. Olivia watched as she changed and raced in front of the wolf.

Harry wheeled to see Hermione, hand cupped to her mouth. She made a loud howl. He covered her mouth.

"What are you doing?" He asked and Olivia tore her eyes off of the fight and to the two.

"Saving your life." Harry looked back to the tall grass. The werewolf was frozen. As before, it began to approach Harry again. This time, Harry didn't stop her.

"Thanks. But we have to move." Olivia felt the itch of a mind trying to get into hers. She shook it off.

"Why?" Olivia shook her head trying to get the mind out of hers.

"Because that werewolf you just called is running right this way." They exchanged a glance and began to run. Harry and Hermione dashed for the lives and swung behind a huge tree. Harry looked back and saw Olivia standing there.

He was about to run over to her when Hermione grabbed his arm and held him back. "Olivia!" He yelled and her head snapped over to him.

Olivia looked to the other side and saw the fast approaching werewolf. Her eyes widened and she looked down at her leg. She would never make it. Her breath came out as pants and fear engulfed her. "Run!"

She slowly moved away from the wolf. Thankfully it ignored her and raced towards the two behind the tree.

As it approached the tree and Harry and Hermione silently sidestep in the opposite direction. Until the werewolf disappeared.

"Buckbeak." As Harry and Hermione stepped out and they freeze. The werewolf poised itself preparing to pounce.

Thats when the trees shook with the fury of a hurricane and Buckbeak charged into the clearing. Screening Harry and Hermione.

The werewolf snarled angrily and made to charge. With lightning-fast reflexes, Buckbeak's claws slash the air only inches from the werewolf's face.

The werewolf stopped his eyes glittering with rage. He then howled into the night sky. Turning, it vanished into the forest. "Poor Professor Lupin is having a really tough night..." Just then, a chilly wind rose. The leaves of the trees trembled eerie shadow fluttered over the moon, greasy as smoke Dementors.

"Let's go." Looking upwards through the trees as the sky wheeled by, Dementors streaking in and out of view. Harry grabbed Olivia's arm as they raced to the lake.

Harry and Hermione's faces. Shocked. Terror-stricken. Opposite them, across the lake a cyclone of dementors whirl madly above Harry, Olivia, and Black.

Harry watches himself vainly attempt to conjure a Patronus as the cyclone only continued to grow. "This is horrible..."

"Don't worry. My Dad will come.Right there, you'll see, he'll come, any minute, he'll conjure the Patronus" Hermione eyed Harry warily. He was transfixed, staring hungrily toward the outcrop.

The wind rose. The Lake began to freeze. One after another, Dementors dropped from the sky, vanishing in the cyclone. "No one's coming, Harry..."

"HE WILL! He will come!" She looked. Nothing. Desperately, her eyes flashed to the cyclone and to the pitiful sight of Harry, Olivia, and Black at the water's edge wracked with pain dying.