𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺-𝘖𝘯𝘦: 𝘈𝘩, 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦-𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴...

« 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚞𝚜 »

I had only met Headmaster Dumbledore a handful of times, and he had never asked to speak with me before. After that guy (am I supposed to call him Dad?) escaped with his friend, The Marquess, and the dementors attacked, Professor Snape had rushed everyone up to the castle and straight to the hospital wing. We'd been there for hours. The Minister of Magic was there too. He wouldn't listen to anything we had to say. Of course. Political figure heads were useless. 

But then the headmaster came in and shooed everyone out, much to the dismay of the head nurse Madam Pomfrey, who claimed we all needed more medical attention (which I was not completely opposed to since it basically consisted of eating a bunch of chocolate). 

Once we were alone, the headmaster eyed Harry, Hermione, and I. It might have been my imagination, but I thought his gaze lingered on me the longest. There was this look in his eyes I'd never seen before, as though he were sizing me up, trying to decide whether or not I was a threat. Odd moment, if I'm being honest because no one had ever looked at me like I'm a threat before. Usually it was something along the lines of this kid is a little shit, which was a much more accurate assumption.

We were the only ones still awake at that point. Madam Pomfrey had given Ron something to help his leg which knocked him out pretty fast; and Tilly had passed out shortly after arriving in the hospital wing. I was really worried about her. She and Harry had been dead center of the dementor attack. They'd really gotten to her. I hadn't left her side  until we got back to the castle. I'm a mother hen that way.

"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you not to interrupt me, because there is very little time." This was a different Dumbledore than the one who stood before the school at the beginning of the year, the one who could sometimes be found roaming the halls humming to himself. This Dumbledore was the stuff of legend, the sort of person who could duel god like men for three hours without breaking a sweat. This Dumbledore could pull complex plans from thin air like it was nothing. And he was doing so right at that very moment. 

"...I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic." 

There was a short pause. Harry looked like his last hope had just been crushed in front him. But then, Dumbledore said, "What we need... is more time." His eyes flickered over to Hermione for a brief second. I glanced at her too, putting the pieces together. The time-turner. This was our grand time traveling adventure. I was so over come with the excitement of everything at the time it didn't occur to me to question how Dumbledore knew about Hermione's time turner.

When I looked back at the headmaster, he was already staring at me, sizing me up one more time, with a subtle stare that only a Slytherin could master (though, I'd always gotten a Huffly Puffly sort of vibe from him, myself). Maybe it was my dad. People did tend to judge others based on their heritage. It was a little unfair, considering I'd only met him properly three minutes ago... But I digress. Our eyes met, and I knew. Whatever came next was a test; whatever I did would determine whether or not I could be trusted. Why I would need to be trusted was beyond me just then. All I knew was I did not want to get on Albus Dumbledore's bad side. He might look old, frail, and out of his mind, but there was a reason people said he was the only one Voldemort feared.

Something in my expression must have told him I understood his plan, because he turned back to the group as a whole, his voice urgent as he spoke. "Now, pay attention..."

It took all of three seconds to lay it out for us. Sirius in Flitwick's office. Ministry officials guarding him. Five minutes til midnight. Three turns would do it. And most important of all: don't be seen.

Hermione dug out her Time-Turner and threw it around our necks, much to the confusion of Harry, who was a bit slow on the uptake. He tried to touch it once, only to get his hand smacked away. I didn't laugh. If he tells you I did, he's lying.

Hermione spun the time-turner.

I had just enough time to glance over at Tilly before disappearing into the past. She was still sleeping. Her face was a lot more peaceful than it had been a few minutes ago, at least. She'll be alright, I told myself. We'd only be gone a few moments from her point of view, and we'd probably be back before she even woke up. She wouldn't even know I'd left.

And then everything was moving in reverse, like a film on rewind but at super speed. Blurred shapes rushed past ── Dumbledore coming in to speak with us, the Minister insisting we'd all been confunded, Madam Pomfrey attending to everyone, Snape bringing us all in ── and the colours distorted as it shifted from night to daylight again. It was really cool, despite everything. I could see why Hermione would have felt the need to get one. The only downside was a slight case of jet lag.

One look at the clock told me we were now three hours in the past. It was lucky for us, really, that no one had been in the Hospital Wing at that time, or else we might of had a lot of explaining to do. 

After a quick discussion we decided to make our way to Hagrid's, Harry figuring we were meant to save the hippogriff (bird pony) Buckbeak too. It took a while to explain the whole concept of time travel to him. 

"Haven't you ever seen Back to the Future? Or Doctor Who? Or The Time Machine? " We were hiding behind the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, just outside Hagrid's hut. The hippogryph was tied to a pole outside in the pumpkin patch, and we were watching as the Golden Trio of Past Times entered Hagrid's home. Well, sort of. They were invisible at the time.

Hermione had already given Harry a big speal on why messing with the timeline was a bad idea. Your past self would try to hurt you, being the most effective argument so far. 

But Harry was just staring at me dumbly. "Look, the Dursleys don't exactly let me watch movies like that...They don't let me watch movies at all actually. I think they're worried it'll give me ideas." 

"That's no excuse," I said. "I don't even own anything electronic, but I still manage to watch plenty of movies." 

He rolled his eyes but didn't get the chance to respond. Hermione was watching the back door of the hut. "We're coming." 

Sure enough, the back door opened a second later and Hagrid appeared; I assumed the Past Trio was under their invisibility cloak still, because I couldn't see them anywhere. He told the Past Trio to get a move on just as a knock came from the front of the hut ── the execution party (Macnair, Dumbledore, and the Minister of Magic himself).

Macnair was a rather grisly sight. He reminded me of one of those BDSM lot (I'd met a few when Tilly and I had been sent to stay at this brothel...don't ask). He even had a dark, leather head covering and everything. My main focus, though, was on that big, sharp axe in his right hand. If that thing was strong enough to kill a hippogriff, I didn't want to think about what it might do to me. I knew his kid Rhys. They'd sometimes tell stories about how violent he got when he was executing creatures for the Ministry. As if he were having the time of his life when he was killing something.

I inched a little further into the shadows, careful not to step on any twigs. Whatever happened to night I did not want to be seen by that guy.

The group had a few words and then slipped inside the hut to sign the official notice. Now was our chance.

"Wait here," Harry whispered. "I'll do it."

"Hold on." I grabbed his sleeve to stop him. "I think I should do it. No offense, I'm just better at this sort of thing."

Despite my saying 'no offense' he seemed a bit offended. Or maybe it was that whole 'all Slytherins are bad' thing almost all Gryffindors seemed to have. Or maybe he was having trouble trusting me because my dad got his parents killed. As if I had anything to do with that...

"Look, if I can rob the Malfoys in their own home, I can steal an overgrown chicken!" Buckbeak squawked from where he was tied to a post in the pumpkin patch. His feathers ruffled. I remembered the way the Rich Twit had gotten himself scratched and caused all this mess to begin with. "Uh, a very pretty over grown chicken that is." He seemed satisfied by that compliment, because he started digging his beak into the ground.

"But ─" At Hermione's stern look Harry stopped arguing. "Oh fine."

"Cool. Can I borrow your super convenient invisibility cloak?"  

"Um, I left it back at the hospital wing, actually..." 

"Well, that was dumb of you." He didn't argue, looking like he agreed with me on that one. Fine, I thought. We'll just do it the hard way. 

Hermione twisted her sleeve in her hands, the same way my sister did when she got anxious. "Be careful, Magnus."

"Just keep an eye on the axe for me."

I darted out from behind the trees and vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch. Normally, I'd sit down for a few hours (at least) before attempting to steal something more than a few coins (or in this case magical creatures). It took time to figure out the best course of action, everything that could go wrong and all the ways to avoid it.

I didn't have time.

There was only a few seconds for me to figure out what to do, and I'd just have to hope that nothing went wrong.

Buckbeak was trotting circles around his post. He didn't seem to have any idea he was in danger, which was good. I imagined working with a calm hippogriff was a lot easier than a scared one. Gray feathers fell to the ground every time he shook his head. I didn't like how far away his post was from the forest. If it came down to it, I might of had to drag him while making a run for it. Getting him over the fence would take some work, but by that point hopefully Hermione and Harry would be able to help.

At least, I doubt I'd have been worrying so much, if he hadn't been placed so close to the bloody hut.

The window to the hut was wide open. The good thing about that was I could see and hear everything happening inside. The bad news: they would be able see and hear everything happening outside if they were paying attention.

For the moment, it was fine. Fudge was twisting his bowler hat in his hands while reading off the notice. Macnair was close, running his fingers along the blade of his axe. The sight sent chills down my spine.

Alright, I told myself. It's fine. I've got this.

I crept forward, until I reached Buckbeak. Every now and again I'd find myself glancing at the window, at Macnair. I'm sorry but I didn't trust either Hermione or Harry to tell me if he was coming out swinging. Not in time for me to get out of there. To be fair I only trusted Tilly to have my back. I really missed her right then. I wished she'd been awake when we took off so she could have been with me while we did this. I just felt a lot better with her around.

Am I co-dependant? Maybe.

But dwelling on her absence wasn't going to help me. I needed to focus.

Bowing was the easy part. Waiting for the hippogriff to bow back was torture. I didn't want to think about what might've happen if he chose to freak out instead. We'd all be caught and the whole rescue mission would fail. I'd probably fail Dumbledore's test of morals. And Fudge... Would he have thrown three kids in Azkaban for obstruction of justice? 

The seconds ticked by. At first, he didn't move. I started getting antsy. Plan B. I needed a plan B.

There were dead ferrets dangling from another post near by. I started to grab one, slowly, and that must have won Buckbeak over because he bowed at the same moment I slipped one off the post. I untied him and he started to follow me, but we weren't moving fast enough.

The Minister was finished reading the notice. 

Seconds left. They'd be outside any moment. 

I kept one eye on the window of the hut. Macnair was moving for his axe. His broad shoulders blocked everyone else from view, but I knew they were heading for the door as well. My hands had gotten so sweaty I fumbled the reign around Buckbeak's neck. Macnair had disappeared. They were opening the door.

"Magnus, hurry!" That oh so helpful bit of advice came from Hermione.

"Thanks, never would have thought of that," I snapped. I really missed having Tilly as my partner in crime. She was more annoying than anything else, sure, but at least I was familiar with the way she worked. At least, I knew she wouldn't abandon me the second I turned my back on her. 

I tripped over a rock and fell behind one of the massive pumpkins. Rather smooth of me, I know. It worked itself out. I'd gotten a vaguely resourceful idea. But mostly stupid.

The rock was a few feet away. The hut's door creaked open. I sucked in a breath, and then I was darting out of my hiding spot and snatching the rock. I ducked behind another pumpkin hoping I hadn't been spotted. Buckbeak was watching me like I was an idiot, which I thought was a bit rude considering I was trying to save him from execution. I waited a second, two, three. No one was shouting at me. The only sound was Dumbledore babbling about how wonderful the weather was.

I let out a sigh of relief. Moving slow, careful not to make any noise, I moved around the pumpkin. I couldn't see what Hermione and Harry were doing since they were behind me, but I didn't have time to worry about it. There was a pot sitting on the edge of the window sill inside. It was already chipped. I supposed it wouldn't have hurt anything if I broke it any more. I threw the rock at it.

The pot shattered. "What the devil?" And just like that, everyone went back inside to investigate. I was just lucky wizards were incredibly thick. It wouldn't buy me much time.

I had to move. Fast.

I made a beeline for the ferrets hanging in the post, grabbed a few, and tossed them as far as I could in the direction of the forest. Buckbeak chased them without hesitation. It did speed things up, but there was still a lot of ground to cover. Still only seconds left before they came back outside.

Another pot shattered inside. Someone was suggesting Hagrid's hut was haunted. Fudge, probably.

I whirled around and met Hermione's gaze. Her eyes were wide, and she made a gesture at me to up. I wasn't arguing. 

Buckbeak and I made it to the edge of the fence just as Hagrid's door began to creak open. I panicked. This was usually the part where Tilly would have jumped out and caused some huge distraction to save me from getting found out. But Tilly was still back in the hospital wing. Or in Lupin's office. Depends on your point of view, I suppose. Either way she wasn't with me, and I was at a loss. The door looked right out at the garden. There was no way they wouldn't see me. 

Hermione must have been thinking the same thing, because she tugged on Harry's arm. And then the two of them were darting out to help coax Buckbeak over the fence and back into the forest. It took a whole minute, which was a whole minute too long. I turned back to the hut, holding my breath. I was sure we'd been spotted. We'd been found out. And now we'd all be expelled and thrown in to Azkaban right next to Harry's god father. If kids could even go to prison. I dunno. They might have. 

But luckily for us, we didn't have to find out. Dumbledore was distracting everyone for us with some muggle sweets he'd gotten from his pocket. I sighed in relief. Thank Merlin for our headmasters weirdo antics.  

"Why didn't you just fly away with him?" Harry asked me. Valid question. It did seem like an easier,  faster plan. But easier and faster weren't always the best plans. I knew that from experience, every time I let Tilly "modify" a plan to make it "faster" and "easier" and it went to shite real fast. 

"Only an idiot would bring a hippogriff into the forest instead."

"So...why did you do it, then?" 

"Because, Harry, I am an idiot." He still looked confused, but Hermione was shushing us, so neither of us dared to talk. 

Macnair was the first to take notice of the missing Buckbeak. The muscles in his arms clenched. I could see his veins clear from where we were hiding. He raised his axe in Hagrid's face, like he wanted to hit him with it. Buckbeak started squawking at the movement. He tried darting out of the forest, trying to get to Hagrid. To protect him from the axe, I suppose. It took several more ferrets and all three of us petting him to quiet him down. 

"Where is it? Where is the beast?" 

Everyone else had noticed Buckbeak's absence by that point too. Hermione was chewing on her nails. I was just waiting for one of them to hear the noise Buckbeak had been making and look over and see us and go 'Look those kids are stealing the hippogriff!'  And none of us would have anything clever or witty to get ourselves out of it. Because first of all it was way past our curfew by that point. Second, we were interfering with Ministry business or whatever it was they thought they were doing. Third, we were changing the course of history. Which was so dangerous they had a whole department at the Ministry where they kept the time-turners all locked away and strictly monitored. As soon as they seen us, we were basically dead. 

I kept waiting. 

And waiting. 

But they never seen us. They were too busy gawking at the spot Buckbeak had been to even glance in our direction. Then, everyone was looking up. Searching the sky for a hippogriff and anyone who might have been riding him. Harry gave me a look like um okay, then?  I shrugged back at him, only half paying attention. I was more focused on making sure they weren't looking our way. If only Harry hadn't been an idiot and forgot his cloak. Sad times. 

"How extraordinary." Dumbledore looked highly amused. I wondered if he had already been plotting to send Hermione on this time traveling mission. Did he already know what we had done? Maybe we had been spotted, by him, and this was what gave him the idea to send us back in time in the first place. 

There was a lot of commotion for several minutes. Hagrid was sobbing tears of joy. The committee was not happy and demanded a search party. It ended with Macnair aimlessly throwing his axe everywhere, chopping up a pumpkin and the fence. I held my breath. There was a minute. Two. Three. 

The committee moved back inside. 

Hermione and Harry relaxed, but I was still feeling the rush of adrenaline ──the racing heart, the shaking  hands, the restlessness that came with doing anything authority figures typically didn't deem appropriate. I must have look a bit barmy, bouncing on my feet to get rid of the excess energy. They looked like they wanted to sleep. I felt like I could run a hundred yards. Which was a good thing. The way our night was going, I might have had to. 

I decided to make use of my energized state while I had it. Before either of them could properly catch their breath, I was marching off in the direction of the Whomping Willow. "Alright, let's go save the dog-father!"