" 

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and the girl --" 

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, 
naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to 
the castle." 

There was a pause. Harry's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, 
and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of his stomach.... 

He opened his eyes. 

Everything was slightly blurred. Somebody had removed his glasses. He 
was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, he 
could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. 
Harry squinted. Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm. 

325 



Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay 
Hermione. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her eyes were open too. 
She looked petrified, and when she saw that Harry was awake, pressed a 
finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, 
and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through it from 
the corridor outside. 


Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to Harry's bed. 
He turned to took at her. She was carrying the largest block of 
chocolate he had ever seen in his life. It looked like a small boulder. 


"Ah, you're awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on 
Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer. 


"How's Ron?" said Harry and Hermione together. 


"He'll live, said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you two you'll be 
staying here until I'm satisfied you're -- Potter, what do you think 
you're doing?" 


Harry was sitting up, putting his glasses back on, and picking up his 
wand. 


"I need to see the headmaster," he said. 


"Potter," said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. They've got 
Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the 
kiss any moment now --" 


"WHAT?" 


Harry jumped up out of bed; Hermione had done the same. But his shout 
had been heard in the corridor outside; next second, Cornelius Fudge and 
Snape had entered the ward. 


"Harry, Harry, what's this?" said Fudge, looking agitated. "You should 
be in bed -- has he had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey 
anxiously. 


"Minister, listen!" Harry said. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter 


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Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the 
dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's --" 

But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face. 

"Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful 
ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control...." 

"YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry yelled. "YOUVE GOT THE WRONG MAN!" 

"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she had hurried to Harry's 
side and was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face. "I saw him too. It 
was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and --" 

"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, both of them.... Black's 
done a very good job on them...." "WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry roared. 

"Minister! Professor!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist that 
you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!" 

"I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said 
furiously. "If they'd just listen --" 

But Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into 
Harry's mouth; he choked, and she seized the opportunity to force him 
back onto the bed. 

"Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave 

The door opened again. It was Dumbledore. Harry swallowed his mouthful 
of chocolate with great difficulty and got up again. 

"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black --" 

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a 
hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist --" 

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Miss 
Granger," said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius 
Black --" 

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"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's 
mind?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive --" 

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape 
closely through his half-moon spectacles. 

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter 
Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him 
on the grounds." 

"That was because you were knocked out, Professor!" said Hermione 
earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear 

"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" 

"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled, "the young lady is disturbed in her 
mind, we must make allowances --" 

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," said Dumbledore 
abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy -- please leave us." 

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need 
rest --" 

"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist." 

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end 
of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large 
gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat. 

"The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet 
them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs." 

He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't 
moved. 

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his 
eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face. 

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"I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated. 

Snape took a step toward Dumbledore. 

"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he 
breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten 
that he once tried to kill me?" 

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. 

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still 
holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry and 
Hermione. They both burst into speech at the same time. 

"Professor, Black's telling the truth -- we saw Pettigrew "-- he escaped 
when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf --" 

"-- he's a rat --" 

"-- Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off --" 

"-- Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius --" 

But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations. 

"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because 
there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of 
proof to support Black's story, except your word -- and the word of two 
thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of 
eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave 
evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' 
Secret-Keeper." 

"Professor Lupin can tell you --" Harry said, unable to stop himself 

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone 
anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius 
will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted 
by most of our kind that his support will count for very little -- and 
the fact that he and Sirius are old friends --" 

329 



"But --" 

"Listen to me, Harry. It is too late, you understand me? You must see 
that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than 
yours." 

"He hates Sirius," Hermione said desperately. "All because of some 
stupid trick Sirius played on him --" 

"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady 
-- entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife -- without Pettigrew, alive or 
dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence." 

"But you believe us." 

"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other 
men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic...." 

Harry stared up into the grave face and felt as though the ground 
beneath him were falling sharply away. He had grown used to the idea 
that Dumbledore could solve anything. He had expected Dumbledore to pull 
some amazing solution out of the air. But no ... their last hope was 
gone. 

"What we need," said Dumbledore slowly, and his light blue eyes moved 
from Harry to Hermione, "is more time." 

"But --" Hermione began. And then her eyes became very round. "OH!" 

"Now, pay attention," said Dumbledore, speaking very low, and very 
clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh 
floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes 
well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But 
remember this, both of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know 
the law -- you know what is at stake.... You -- must -- not -- be -seen." 


Harry didn't have a clue what was going on. Dumbledore had turned on his 
heel and looked back as he reached the door. 

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"I am going to lock you in. It is --" he consulted his watch, "five 

minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck." 
"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three 
turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?" 

But Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from 
beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain. 

"Harry, come here," she said urgently. "Quick!" 
Harry moved toward her, completely bewildered. She was holding the chain 
out. He saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it. 


"Here --" 
She had thrown the chain around his neck too. 
"Ready?" she said breathlessly. 
"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely lost. 
Hermione turned the hourglass over three times. 
The dark ward dissolved. Harry had the sensation that he was flying very 


fast, backward