HARRY POTTER and the Prisoner of Azkaban CHAPTER 21
Chapter 21
HERMIONE’S SECRET
Harry wakes up. He cannot see anything. It is dark in the hospital. He is lying on a bed. He hears voices outside. It is Snape. And also Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. “We have Black, Severus, thanks to you,” says Fudge. “With your story, Black will stay in Azkaban forever. The dementors are coming to give him the kiss.” Harry sits up quickly. Snape’s story is not true! He must stop him. He looks around the room. Hermione is in the bed next to him. She is awake.
“Hermione, did you hear that?” says Harry. “Snape is lying! We have to talk to Dumbledore!” At that moment, Madam Pomfrey comes in. “Ah, good! You’re awake!” she says. Then she sees Harry standing. “Potter! What are you doing?” “Where is Ron? Is he okay?” asks Harry. “Get back in bed, Potter!” she says. “Ron is fine. His leg will get better. But you must rest.” “But we need to see Dumbledore!”
Then the door opens. Fudge and Snape come in. “What’s going on in here?” asks Fudge. “Minister, listen to me!” says Harry. “Sirius Black is innocent! Peter Pettigrew is alive! He faked his death. We saw him tonight. You must not let the dementors take Sirius!” “Harry, you are confused,” says Fudge. “Everything is under control.” “NO, IT IS NOT!” yells Harry. “YOU HAVE THE WRONG MAN!”
“Minister, please,” says Hermione. “I saw Pettigrew, too. He changed into a rat. He was Ron’s pet for years.” “You see?” says Snape. “These children are very confused.” “But Professor Snape didn’t see!” says Hermione. “He was unconscious.” “Miss Granger, be quiet!” yells Snape. Then Dumbledore walks in. “Everyone leave,” he says. “I must speak to them alone.”
“But they need care!” says Madam Pomfrey. “They’ll be fine,” says Dumbledore. Fudge checks his watch. “The dementors should be here now. I’ll meet them. I will see you later, Albus.” Fudge leaves, but Snape does not. “You can’t believe these children,” says Snape. “I will speak with them alone,” says Dumbledore.
Snape looks angry. “Black almost killed me once,” he says. “He is still capable of killing. Or did you forget?” “My memory is fine, Severus,” says Dumbledore. “Now please leave.” Snape leaves. Dumbledore turns to Harry and Hermione. They both talk fast.
“Black is telling the truth…”
“Pettigrew escaped…”
“Lupin turned into a werewolf…”
“Pettigrew cut off his own finger…”
“It wasn’t Sirius!”
“Stop,” says Dumbledore. “Now listen. We don’t have much time. No one will believe your story. I don’t have the power to help.” “But Lupin can tell you!” says Harry. “Lupin is a werewolf in the forest. And no one trusts a werewolf. Snape’s story is easier to believe.” “But Snape hates Sirius!” says Hermione. Dumbledore speaks slowly. “I believe you.”
“But I can’t change what will happen. What we need is more time.” He looks at Hermione. “But…” she starts. Then her eyes open wide. “OH!” “Listen carefully,” says Dumbledore. “Sirius is in Flitwick’s office. Thirteenth window from the West Tower. If all goes well, you can save more than one innocent life tonight. But no one must see you. You know the law, Miss Granger.”
Harry is confused. Dumbledore walks to the door. “It’s almost midnight,” continues Dumbledore. “Three turns should be enough. Good luck.” Dumbledore leaves the room and locks the door. “Good luck?” says Harry. “What does that mean?” Hermione pulls something from her robes - a long gold chain with a tiny hourglass. She puts it around Harry’s neck too.
“Ready?” she asks. “What are we doing?” asks Harry. “What is that?” She turns the hourglass three times. The world goes dark. Harry feels like he’s flying backwards. Then suddenly they are in the Hogwarts entrance hall. The sun is shining. “Hermione, what just happened?” asks Harry. She pulls him into a closet. “We went back in time,” says Hermione. “Three hours into the past.”
Then they hear footsteps. Hermione looks carefully from the door. “It’s us!” says Hermione. “We’re leaving the castle and going to Hagrid’s house!” “You mean we’re in here, and also out there?” says Harry. “Yes! We’re under the Invisibility Cloak. We’re walking away now.” Harry stares at Hermione.
“Where did you get this?” asks Harry, pointing at the hourglass. “It’s called a Time-Turner,” says Hermione. “Professor McGonagall gave it to me so I could take more classes. She said I was a great student, so I could use the Time-Turner. But I don’t know what Dumbledore wants us to do. How does going back help Sirius?”
“I think… we have to change something,” says Harry. He thinks hard. Then he says, “We’re going to save Buckbeak!” Hermione looks surprised. “But how does that help Sirius?” “If we save Buckbeak, he can help Sirius escape! Dumbledore said we could save more than one innocent life!” Hermione looks excited.
“But we can’t be seen,” she says. “It’s very dangerous.” “We have to try.” Harry listens at the door. It’s quiet. “Let’s go,” he says. They leave the hall and run toward the forest. They pass the Willow tree and reach the edge of the forest. “We’ll sneak to Hagrid’s from here,” says Hermione. They hide behind a tree and watch. Then someone knocks on Hagrid’s door. “It’s us under the cloak,” says Harry.
They see Hagrid open and close the door. Then they move closer to Buckbeak. He is tied to a fence. “We can’t save him yet,” says Hermione. “They must see he’s here first.” Then they hear Hermione scream from inside the house. “That’s me finding Scabbars!” she says. “Let’s catch Pettigrew now!” says Harry. “No! We must not be seen!” says Hermione.
Then they hear voices on the hill. It is Dumbledore, Fudge, and the executioner. They are leaving the castle and walking down the hill. “Our other selves are coming out now,” says Hermione. They watch themselves leave Hagrid’s house and disappear under the cloak. The men come closer.
Soon, the executioner checks the back and sees Buckbeak. He goes back inside. “Now,” says Harry. Harry runs to Buckbeak. He unties the rope and pulls. Buckbeak won’t move. “Come on, boy!” says Harry. “Hurry!” yells Hermione. Harry pulls harder on the rope. Slowly, Buckbeak follows. They run into the forest. They are safe. They hear voices from Hagrid’s house.
“Where is it?” yells the executioner. “It was right here!” says the old wizard. “How strange,” says Dumbledore. He sounds almost happy. The men go inside, confused. Harry and Hermione hide. “Let’s wait near the Willow tree,” says Harry. “We will see ourselves go into the hole under the tree.” They walk quietly. It is getting dark.
“There’s Ron!” says Hermione. They see Ron chasing Scabbers. Then they see themselves run after him. Then Sirius appears as a dog. He grabs Ron and pulls him under the tree. They watch the attack. Then Crookshanks presses the tree’s secret spot. Everyone disappears under the tree. Later, Lupin appears. He uses a stick to stop the tree. He goes inside.
Then Snape appears. He picks up the stick Lupin used. He also stops the tree and goes in. “We just wait now,” says Hermione. They wait for more than an hour. “Here we come!” Hermione whispers. They see Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron come out from under the tree. Then Snape comes out. He is floating like a puppet. Next, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius Black come out of the hole. They all walk to the castle. “Harry, we must stay here,” says Hermione. “No one can see us. We must let everything happen. Then we can use Buckbeak to help Black.” Soon the moon comes out from behind the clouds. Lupin starts to change! He becomes a werewolf!
The fight begins! Then Harry remembers: “Hermione! We have to move! Lupin will come this way!” Hermione screams. “Quick!” she says. “We have to run! The dementors will come soon. Let’s go back to Hagrid’s house.” They run fast. They pull Buckbeak by his rope. They hear the werewolf run into the forest behind them. Then they hear Sirius Black. They wait. Then Harry says, “Hermione, I have to see what is happening with Black. We have to help him!” Hermione is not sure. “Well… okay,” she says at last. “I’ll stay here with Buckbeak. You go find Black. But be careful! There is a werewolf and many dementors out there.”
They hear the dog. That means the dementors are coming. Harry runs towards the lake. He knows the other Harry is going to try to help Black. Harry runs fast into the trees. He thinks about his father. He knows no one should see him. But he wants to know: was it his father he saw that night?
He comes to the lake. On the other side, he sees a silver light. It is the weak Patronus of the other Harry. He hides behind a bush. Then the light goes out! The dementors are attacking! He waits for his father to come. Nothing happens… Harry looks over the bush. A dementor is close to Harry on the other side. It is going to give him the dementor’s kiss. But no one comes to help. Then Harry understands! That night, he did not see his father in the light of the Patronus — he saw himself! Harry jumps out from the bush. He takes out his wand. “EXPECTO PATRONUM!” he shouts with strong feeling. Silver light comes out of his wand! It is not only a light and some smoke. It is a silver animal!
It looks like a horse. It runs across the water. The animal puts its head down and runs into the dementors. It runs around and around them. The dementors run away and go into the forest. They are gone. The Patronus runs back to Harry. It is not a horse. It is not a unicorn.
It is a big male deer — a stag! It shines like the full moon. It stops in front of Harry. It looks at him. Its eyes are big and silver. It bows its head. It has many long antlers. Harry understands… The antlers of a stag… “Prongs,” he says. His father’s nickname at school. “My father transformed into a stag!” Harry thinks.
Harry puts his hand out to touch the stag, but it disappears. He feels very sad. He thinks about his father. Then he hears a sound behind him. Hermione comes with Buckbeak on his rope. “What did you do!” she says. “You said you only wanted to see what was happening!” “I just saved all our lives,” says Harry. He tells her everything. “Did anyone see you?” she asks. “Yes! I saw myself. But I thought it was my father. It’s okay! I didn’t change time!”
“Harry, I can’t believe it!” says Hermione. “You made a very strong Patronus!” “I knew I could do it this time,” says Harry. “I felt sure. I knew I could do it because, well, I already did it… if that makes sense…” Then Hermione says, “Harry, look! It’s Snape!” Snape appears across the lake.
The spell that controlled Snape is finished. He stands near the three bodies. He uses magic to make three stretchers. He puts Harry, Hermione, and Black on them. There is already one stretcher with Ron. He uses his wand to move the stretchers to the castle.
“Okay,” says Hermione. “We have about forty-five minutes. That is when Dumbledore will leave the hospital room. We must help Black and get back before anyone sees we are gone.” They wait. Then they see someone leaving the castle. It is the executioner! He is going to bring the dementors to take Black.
“It’s time!” says Harry. He helps Hermione climb onto Buckbeak. Then he uses a rock to climb up too. Harry uses the rope and his legs to move Buckbeak. The hippogriff jumps into the air! His wings are strong. They fly high into the sky. “Oh, I don’t think I like this,” says Hermione. “I really don’t like this!” Her eyes are closed.
Harry holds the rope and guides Buckbeak. They fly to the castle. Harry looks at the windows. He finds the one where Black is. Buckbeak flies outside the window. He sees Sirius through the window. “He’s there!” says Harry. Harry knocks on the window. Black comes to the window. He sees Harry, Hermione, and Buckbeak. He is very surprised.
Black tries to open the window. It is locked. “Move back, Sirius!” Hermione says. She takes out her wand. “Alohomora!” she says. The window opens! “Get on!” says Harry. “We don’t have much time! The dementors are coming!” Black climbs through the window and jumps onto Buckbeak. “Go, Buckbeak!” says Harry. He pulls the rope. “Fly to the tower!”
Buckbeak flies high up to the tower. They land. Harry and Hermione jump off. “Sirius, you must go now,” says Harry. “They will see you are gone soon.” “How can I thank you, Harry…” says Black. “GO!” say Harry and Hermione together. “We will meet again, Harry,” says Black. “You really are your father’s son…” He pulls on the rope. Buckbeak flies up into the dark sky. The moon shines bright. Soon, they disappear into the night.
