Chapter 51:

Still gaping, Sirius hauled himself through the window and onto Buckbeak's back. Hermione locked the window once more, leaving it as if it had never been touched.

With everyone secure, Harry dug his heels in and guided Buckbeak all the way to the top of the West Tower. They landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off. "Sirius, you'd better leave, now. They'll notice you're gone any minute now."

"What about the others? Is everyone alright?" Sirius asked urgently. Harry shook his head; he needed to move!

"Everyone's fine, now go!"

"I'll write you," Sirius promised. "I'll figure something out. This isn't goodbye, Harry." He leaned down from the hippogriff, pressing his forehead to Harry's for the briefest moment. "Thank you."

For a moment, Harry thought about jumping back on Buckbeak and flying off with Sirius to who-knew-where. Away from Hogwarts, away from Dumbledore. Freedom.

But he couldn't. His friends needed him.

Instead, he stepped back to watch Sirius nudge the huge beast forward, Buckbeak's wings stretching wide as he launched himself off the battlements and into the sky. Hermione tugged on his arm. "We have to get moving, quickly!"

Harry wrenched his gaze away, allowing Hermione to drag him down the steps and back into the castle. Sirius would be fine, he told himself. He had to be.

Luckily, the West Tower wasn't too far from the hospital wing, and after a near-miss with Fudge in the hallway, they made it back to the doors just as Dumbledore was excusing himself from the ward. He smiled benevolently at them. Harry refused to meet his gaze. "All done, then?" Harry and Hermione both nodded. Dumbledore's smile widened. "Excellent. And I think—" He cocked his head, listening through the door, "— yes, I think you've gone too. Quickly, now." He ushered them back into the hospital wing, and the lock clicked behind them.

They'd done it.

Harry let out a breathless laugh, meeting Hermione's equally incredulous gaze. They crept back to their beds, just in time for Madam Pomfrey to emerge from her office. "Did I hear the headmaster leave? Am I allowed to look after my own patients, now?" She had a sour expression on her face as she shoved enormous blocks of chocolate at both Harry and Hermione. Harry settled down in his bed, taking a bite out of the sweet confection. He could relax now. Sirius was safe.

.-.-.-.

Severus ran gentle fingers over the lump on the back of his head, hissing as the flesh stung. It was too much to hope that the evening's events had been some bizarre, concussion-induced dream.

He'd woken up to the Minister raging in the middle of the hospital wing — Black had somehow escaped, right under his nose. Weasley was still unconscious, but when Severus dared look at Potter and Granger, they seemed entirely too innocent for their own good. Feigning sleep still, Severus managed to piece together what had happened after he'd been knocked out.

He never thought he'd see the day where he was actually pleased Sirius Black got off scot-free. He snorted to himself quietly; how things had changed. To learn that Pettigrew was the traitor after all… a few things certainly made sense, in hindsight. He wondered how Lupin was taking the whole affair, then glanced towards the window. The sun was only just rising over the tops of the trees. Lupin would have no clue about anything that had happened after his transformation.

Pulling himself into a standing position made Severus wince, but he was no stranger to pain. He bent down to buckle his boots, then straightened up, looking around the hospital wing. The three Gryffindors were fast asleep, and Poppy was nowhere to be found.

His wand was on the side table, and he grabbed it, tucking it back into his pocket as he walked somewhat gingerly from the ward. After a brief detour to get clothes for the man, he was striding across the lawn in the early dawn light, and stopped at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "Point me Remus Lupin." His clear, curt tones had his wand spinning in his hand, and he walked on once it settled on a direction.

As he searched the dark woods, he couldn't stop his thoughts returning to what had happened the night before. The werewolf in front of him, rearing up with a howl, definitely bigger than it had been when he was sixteen. He could hardly believe he'd been so foolish as to stand in front of it, even if it had been to protect students. To protect Lily's boy. He'd stared a werewolf in the face, for the second time in his life, and lived to tell the tale. Hopefully, it would be the last time. But with some of his recent life choices, he found he couldn't promise himself that.

"Daft wolf," he muttered when he finally came across the man, wishing he didn't sound so fond. The greying man was sprawled awkwardly across the forest floor, entirely naked and covered in scratches. He groaned softly when Severus knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, up you get. You need to get inside." "Mmm, Severus?" he mumbled, blinking open hazy eyes. Severus watched as the events of the night rushed into clarity in the man's eyes. "Harry!" he exclaimed, voice hoarse. "Oh, Merlin, is he alright? Did I hurt him? Where's Sirius?— andPeter!"

"Remus, breathe," Severus cut through the man's panicked ramblings, squeezing his shoulder. "Potter is fine. You didn't hurt anyone. Pettigrew escaped, but so did Black." He set the bundle he was carrying down on the ground, revealing a pair of soft black trousers and a thick brown cardigan. "Let's get you back to the castle. I'll explain everything on the way."

It was slow going, getting Remus dressed and moving, and by the time they reached the castle doors Severus had given up letting the prideful idiot walk and just hauled him up into his arms. Remus looked up at him, grinning faintly. "I think I'm swooning," he declared playfully, laughing when Severus scowled.

"Quiet, or I'll leave you to crawl back to your quarters." They both knew the threat was an empty one. Nonetheless, Remus settled down, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he rested his head against Severus' shoulder. The Slytherin's heart stuttered.

Finally, they were in Remus' bedroom, and Severus deposited the man as gently as he could on the mattress. Remus closed his eyes for a long moment, then swore quietly. "Twelve years," he murmured. "I thought my best friend was a murderer for twelve years. Peter, this whole time… how could I have been so wrong, Severus?"

"The evidence against Black was damning," Severus pointed out. He perched on the edge of the mattress, his own muscles aching. His night hadn't exactly been sunshine and roses either.

"I should've trusted him."

"Why? He didn't trust you." Severus could still remember how it'd been back then, Remus full of anguish when he realised his friends were suspicious of him after all they'd been through, that they thought for even a second that he'd turn away from the Light. Severus had tried to convince him that their association wasn't helping, but Remus refused to give him up. Foolish, idiot Gryffindor.

"If I'd pushed for a trial, this never would've happened. Harry never would have been raised by her."

"The Ministry never would have listened to a werewolf," Severus pointed out. "It's all moot. What matters now is that we know the truth. Potter knows the truth."

"But Sirius is still a criminal in the eyes of the world, and Peter's free to take his slimy little traitorous arse back to his precious master, wherever he is," Remus said with a scowl, wincing as it tugged on a cut on his face. Honey eyes met Severus' dark ones, far too old to be sitting in such a young face. "Everything's about to change, isn't it, Severus?"

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