act one: the girl in the bubble
chapter twenty

Daphne couldn't remember when she had exactly gone out of it. But by the time she woke up, all she knew was that she could feel the sharp pain in her face. Madam Pompfry had been fretting over her, as well as Ron, in a rush to get something done about their injuries. Harry was unconscious on the bed across from the two while Daphne looked around for Hermione.

There were many little splint bandages littering the girl's face. Her shirt and jacket were covered in dried blood, as well as her neck. She couldn't really see out of one eye, her whereabouts being a bit hazy due to the blood loss. Daphne sat herself up as she tried her best not to tug at the muscles in her face any.

The wounds on her face burned more than they had in her vision. She hadn't imagined them to be so... painful. It was rather stupid to believe that, as they were open wounds that were rather deep, but something about them just hadn't seemed as... as bad. Yes, she had a breakdown after having a vision of her getting them but that was out of fear.

The fear wasn't of her uncle though. She would never be afraid of her Uncle Remus nor would she blame him for any of this. He would never hurt her, and he hadn't meant to when he did. Part of her dreaded the moment he found out what had happened - she knew that he would completely blame himself and try to isolate.

There was a lot going on, Daphne noticed as Ron began to wake up but he was clearly dissociated and she heard as Hermione began to talk to Harry to wake him up which hadn't taken long. Though it was clear no one really knew where they were when they had first woke up.

"I saw my dad," Harry admitted as he finally came back to reality.

"What?" Hermione questioned as she looked horrified, after all, his dad was dead.

Daphne stood tall, ignoring how dizzy she was, "He sent the dementors away. I saw him across the lake," Harry seemed a little too excited.

"Listen Harry, they've captured Sirius," Hermione stressed as she looked at Daphne, "Any minute they are going to perform the dementors kiss on him."

Harry practically shot out of his bed, reaching for his glasses urgently, "They're going to kill him!"

"No, it's worse," Hermione spoke as she looked at Daphne in pity, "Much worse. They're going to suck out his soul."

Harry sat up as the two shared looks. Harry looked back at Daphne, being stricken with momentary horror which caused her to look at the ground. She only looked back up upon hearing the doors to the Hospital Wing sling open. She watched as Dumbledore walked in.

"Headmaster, you've got to stop them!" Hermione exclaimed as she looked at Dumbledore while the others followed suit, "They've got the wrong man."

"It's true, Sirius is innocent," Harry backed Hermione up as he kept a close eye on Daphne.

"He didn't betray anyone," Daphne's words were firm as she felt tears brim her eyes as she spoke.

Ron seemed to be awake as well as he pushed himself up, "It was Scabbers who did it!"

"Scabbers?" Dumbledore questioned, clearly not understanding how that could be.

"He's my rat, sir," Everyone's attention turned towards the redhead who tried to explain the situation, "He's not really a rat. He was a rat. He was my brother Percy's rat. But they gave him an owl..."

"But the point is, we know the truth," Hermione whipped her head around as she looked at the Headmaster, "Please believe us."

"I do, Miss Granger," He placed his frail hand on her arm, "But I'm sorry to say the word of four thirteen-year-old wizards will convince few others."

"Then I'll work it out myself," Daphne wasn't going to sit there and stay quiet over a little pain, she had to defend her family.

Dumbledore looked at the girl and had a glint of... something in his eye before he brushed past the three and walked over to Ron, "A child's voice, however honest and true is meaningless to those who have forgotten to listen," Dumbledore placed his hand down on Ron's wounds which caused him to cry out, "Mysterious thing, time. Powerful... and when meddled with, dangerous. Sirius Black is in the topmost cell of Dark Tower. Daphne knows where that is and you know the rules Miss Graner, 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 spared. Three turns should do it..."

Harry and Daphne shared a look of confusion as the Professor left before he stopped, mid closing the doors, "Oh! And when in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin. Good luck."

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron questioned as he looked confused, while staring at the door.

"Sorry, Ron, but seeing as you can't walk..." Hermione pulled a necklace out from under her shirt and put the chain around herself, Harry, and Daphne and Harry went to touch it but Hermione slapped his hand before turning the small time turner.

Daphne watched as Snape and another Professor came in with Daphne and Ron, watching as the world around them moved in a blur as they went back in time. Daphne wondered what all you could see happening with this.

"What just happened?" Harry questioned once Hermione pulled the necklace off both of them, "Where's Ron?"

"Seven-thirty," Hermione announced as she looked around, "Where were we at seven-thirty?"

"I don't know, going to Hagrid's?" Harry questioned, seeming visibly confused.

Hermione grabbed ahold of both teenager's arms, "Come on, and we can't be seen."

"Hermione!" They ran through the castle and down across the bridge on the way to Hagrid's, "Hermione! Hermione, wait!" And they kept running until they made it to the end of the tunnel and quickly moving so that they weren't seen, "Hermione, will you please tell me what it is we're doing?"

They watched as Hermione yelled at Malfoy and the others while Harry seemed shocked, "That's us."

"Yeah," Daphne uttered quietly, doing her best not to be in intense pain, "This is not normal."

Daphne noticed as they looked back in their direction and she pulled Harry back into the darkness so they wouldn't be seen. Hermione seemed to take this as an opportunity to explain things.

"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."

"You mean you've gone back in time?" Harry questioned while looking shocked.

"Yes," Hermione nodded as she placed the necklace back in her shirt, "Dumbledore obviously wanted us to return to this moment. Clearly something happened that he wanted us to change."

Harry watched as Hermione punched Malfoy again, "Good punch."

"Thanks," Hermione smiled before pushing the two teens back as they tried to hide, "Malfoy's coming!"

They jumped through one of the windows and hid in the grass. Their bodies pressed against the stone as they stayed as low as possible while staying together. They began to descend in their previous spots as the others ran down to Hagrid's. They made it to the stones while Harry beamed.

"Look! Buckbeak's still alive," He looked down at the creature that sat in the garden of Hagrid's.

"Of course," Hermione seemed to have a lightbulb going off in her head, "Remember what Dumbledore said? If we succeed, more than one innocent life may be spared. Let's go!" Hermione pushed the two before running down the hills quickly.

They hid behind the pumpkins that they had been behind prior as they watched through the window of Hagrid's. Looking at the other them. That's weird... another me? Daphne did not like the thought of two Daphne's in one place.

"Here they come, I'd better hurry," Harry began to get up as he went to free Buckbeak.

Daphne grabbed his hand and shook her head, "Not yet."

Hermione understood where Daphne was going with it and ushered out, "Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we steal him. Otherwise he'll think Hagrid set him free."

Harry settled back down before catching sight of the rat, "That's Pettigrew."

Daphne's grip on Harry tightened as Hermione was quick to whip her head around, "Harry, you can't!"

"Hermione that's the man who  betrayed my parents you can't expect me to just sit here," Harry huffed out, not liking that he wasn't allowed to do anything.

Harry went to get up but Hermione helped Daphne drag him back down, "Yes and you must!" They moved over more as they fell on their backs to make sure that they weren't seen, "Harry, you're in Hagrid's hut now. If you 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," They paused for a moment before noticing Fudge, "Fudge is coming. And we aren't leaving? Why aren't we leaving?"

"This is why," Daphne muttered before grabbing a rock and chucking it, hitting the pot before noticing the discord it caused as she hid down again.

"Are you mad?" Harry shrieked at the girl, trying his best to stay silent before she grabbed another and chucked it at Harry,

"Sorry," Daphne muttered as she watched Harry place his hand on the back of his head.

"That hurt," He whined.

"We're coming out the backdoor, go!" Hermione was quick to announce which caused the group to run into the woods behind to avoid being seen, "Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?"

"Yes," Daphne muttered while sighing, "Hour before disaster."

They hid quickly as the other version of themselves turned back to look into the woods. Harry's grip on Daphne's hand tightened to the point that she had realized he had it. She didn't breath until she heard them run away and they started moving again. They went behind the pumpkins before making sure Daphne and Harry were still moving.

"Okay, go, Harry! Go!" Hermione ushered the boy to go to Buckbeak.

"Get away, get off," Harry kicked a few ravens as he walked over to Buckbeak, he bowed at the creature before grabbing his chain and letting go, "Okay, Buckbeak. Come with us now. Come quickly. Come on," Harry beckoned the creature.

Hermione and Harry tugged at the chain before Daphne grabbed one of the dead creatures while resisting the urge to make a face, "Look! A nice... thing..." She wasn't sure what to say as she held out the dead creature, "Come on, Buckbeak. Come on."

Hermione grabbed a few others to help beckon the creature as well. The two girls deciding this was a better way to do it than tugging the chain to get him to move.

"Come on! Come on, here! Come on, Beaky!" Hermione watched as Daphne chucked the dead creature before moving back as he began to follow.

The three stopped in fear as everyone exited Hagrid's hut. All feeling as if they were about to be caught until Daphne forced them to keep moving, having a gut feeling that if they moved now then they'd be fine.

"Come on, Buckbeak," Hermione whispered as they descended down into the woods.

They began to run through the woods once realizing that they were free. Daphne nearly tripped a few times due to Buckbeak pressing against her back but she'd catch herself. They all seemed shocked that they had actually managed to pull it all off, getting away from everything and freeing Buckbeak.

"How?" Harry questioned as they left Buckbeak and began to run.

"No idea!" Hermione yelled as the two followed after her through the woods, "Look, it's Lupin and Snape's coming..."

"And now we wait," Harry declared while he looked at the clearly frustrated Daphne.

"And now we wait," Hermione agreed as she watched.

It took a little bit as they sat there and got comfortable. Daphne had an overwhelming amount of remarks that she had to withhold due to the amount of pain she knew she'd be in when saying them. A few bats flew over their head and they ducked before checking on Buckbeak.

"At least someone's enjoying themselves," Hermione couldn't help but laugh as she watched.

Daphne looked at the two before hearing the whispers which caused her to place her hands over her ears, not getting any weird looks from the two beside her. Her vision had already been impared but she needed to be aware.

"Daphne," Atticus was running through the woods, looking rather terrified, "Daphne, what the hell!"

"Don't question it!" Harry called out to the boy as they did their best to hide.

She wasn't pulled back out of it until she heard the roar of a howl which caused her to jump out of her skin as Harry dragged her by the arm as they ran. She wasn't sure when they had started running but it had to be rather soon. They came to a stop right as Daphne's face had become slashed which made her look down before Hermione started howling.

Harry tried to cover her mouth, "What are you doing?!"

"Saving your life!" Hermione snapped before doing it again.

"Great. Now he's coming for us," Harry snapped as he grabbed Daphne again.

"Now for round two," Daphne whispered.

"I didn't think about that!" Hermione screamed before they began to run.

Daphne was smart enough to split up from the two while hiding behind the tree. She was as white as a ghost as she did her best to stay calm. She knew that not being calm would cause an immense amount of pain... wait can he smell my blood?

Daphne made no effort to move or look around before she heard a loud screech which caused her to practically hold onto herself for dear life as she slowly made her way around the tree to see what was happening. She sighed in relief as she saw Harry and Hermione unharmed with Buckbeak near.

"Poor Professor Lupin's having a really tough night," Harry sighed as he looked back at Daphne who frowned ever so slightly.

They watched the dementors before running to follow where they went. Knowing that they were around Sirius and the other Harry. They were sucking out their souls as they sat near the lake. Sirius' body flat against the ground as his eyes remained closed while Harry was on his knees at his side.

"This is horrible," Hermione winced as she watched the sight in front of her while Daphne looked anxious.

"My dad will come, he will conjure the patronus, any minute now... right there, you'll see..." Harry's words were meant to be reassuring, but they weren't.

"Harry listen to me, no one's coming," Hermione looked at the boy as if he was insane.

"He will. He will come..." Harry spoke firmly as he looked at the two girl's, almost looking mad at her for saying otherwise, "Sirius..."

"You're dying," Hermione's voice became soft as she watched, "Both of you."

"Do something, please," Daphne begged as she looked at Harry in front of her, "Or I will.. Please..."

"Harry!" Hermione yelled.

Harry had ran forward as he placed his wand out, yelling clearly, "Expecto Patronum," and from his wand came a vibrant stag.

The dementors began to disappear before they ran the other direction before the other Harry could see them. Everyone doing their best to find their way through the forest without running into Remus once again. Daphne was the first to get on Buckbeak as the other's followed.

"You were right, Hermione! It wasn't my dad I saw earlier, it was me!" Harry cheered while Hermione held on in fear, "I saw myself conjure the patronus before! I knew I could do it this time because... well, I had already done it! Does that make sense?"

"No!" Hermione yelled looking as confused and scared as ever, "But I don't like flying!" And she screamed as loud as she ever had.

Hermione screamed the entire way down. She had always been terrified of heights and flying, but that was a fear she'd soon have to get over. Once they had landed, Daphne practically jumped off of the creature before running over to her Uncle's cell.

"Bombarda!" Daphne muttered the spell before blocking her face from anything that flew her way, "Come on."

Sirius looked proud as he embraced Daphne, "Clever girl," While he looked worried but there was no time for that as they got back onto Buckbeak.

They looked joyous as they flew all over before landing in the courtyard of Hogwarts. Daphne stood as she resisted the urge to touch her face, knowing that would only make things worse as she tried to figure out where Atticus would be and why she had a vision of him.

"I'll be forever grateful for this," Sirius spoke as he walked through a small corridor with the teenagers, "To the three of you."

"I want to go with you," Harry was quick to announce as he looked at the man.

"One day, perhaps," Sirius frowned as he looked at the ground, "For some time, my life will be too unpredictable. And besides... " Sirius placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, "You're meant to be here."

"But you're innocent," Harry frowned while trying to get away.

"And you know it," Daphne looked at the two before walking out so that they could have privacy.

She stood with her arms crossed across her chest. Hermione stood beside her silently giving her a small smile while trying to make sure that the air was clear. Though, Daphne knew that there was a lot going to be happening within the next few months for her in all.

Sirius walked over to his niece while Harry walked over to stand beside Hermione and Buckbeak, "You're so brave," Sirius looked down at her as he smiled, "You definitely have my gene from your father."

Daphne tried her best not to smile too big as she looked at him, "Well, I'd like to believe I'm nothing like my mother. He'd be happy to hear from you, I believe that Dad doesn't think you did it."

"He knows I didn't," Sirius hummed as he brushed back a piece of her hair, as he took in a good look at her, "I'll be in touch. Don't say a word about this to anyone except your brother, I'll be okay with him knowing."

"I'll tell Atticus," Daphne hummed before she pulled him into a tight hug, "I forgive you for nearly killing me."

Sirius scoffed and rolled his eyes as he hugged her back before shaking his head, "You are a wonder."

She grinned as she watched her Uncle walk over to Buckbeak, before managing to get on. There was a moment of silence. Daphne dreaded seeing him go but part of her knew that this wouldn't be the last she saw of him. After all, he was family.

"You really are the brightest witch of your are," Sirius looked down at Hermione with a grin.

And once he flew off, the three teenagers followed to watch as he made it into the air. That was until the chimes of the clock began to tick and they ran off knowing that they needed to be back before the third one rang. They ran through the door and stopped as Dumbledore stood in front of them.

"Well?" Dumbledore questioned as he looked at them.

"He's free, we did it," Harry grinned proudly while Daphne smirked.

"Did what?" Dumbledore made a face before descending down the stairs, "Good night."

The two entered just as they watched the other version of themselves disappear. The confusion on poor Ron's face almost made Daphne hunch over in laughter. He seemed genuinely confused as to what had just happened.

"How did you get there?" Ron pointed at them as he looked fearful, "I was talking to you there! And now you're here!"

"What's he talking about?" Hermione questioned as she looked at the other two teens with a grin.

"I don't know," Harry shook his head as he looked at Daphne.

"Delusional much?" She hummed. 

"Honestly, Ron, how could we be in two places at once?" Harry asked with a grin as he hooked arms with Daphne.

The three began to laugh before each climbing back into a bed for the night, each contempt with different aspects of the night.