and they found themselves at a stop, unless you 
counted the fact that they kept rising up and down several feet as the 
hippogriff beat his wings to remain airborne. 

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"He's there!" Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the 
window. He reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap 
sharply on the glass. 

Black looked up. Harry saw his jaw drop. He leapt from his chair, 
hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked. 

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still 
gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand. 

"Alohomora!" 

The window sprang open. 

"How -- how --?" said Black weakly, staring at the hippogriff 

"Get on -- there's not much time," said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly 
on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get 
out of here -the dementors are coming -- Macnair's gone to get them." 

Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his 
head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In 
seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull 
himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione. 

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower -come 
on. 

The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring 
upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a 
clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once. 

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach 
Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone." 

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head. 

"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" croaked Sirius. 

"He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says 

350 



she'll be able to make him better. Quick -- go --" 
But Black was still staring down at Harry. 
"How can I ever thank --" 
"GO!" Harry and Hermione shouted together. 
Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky. 
"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are -- truly your father's 


son, Harry...." 
He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry and Hermione jumped 
back as the enormous wings rose once more.... The hippogriff took off 
into the air.... He and his rider became smaller and smaller as Harry 

gazed after them... then a cloud drifted across the moon.... They were 
gone. 
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 
OWL POST AGAIN 
Harry!" 
Hermione was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch. "We've got 

exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without 
anybody seeing us -- before Dumbledore locks the door --" 

"Okay," said Harry, wrenching his gaze from the sky, "let's go...." 
They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly 
spiraling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom of it, they heard 
voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and listened. It 
sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the 
corridor at the foot of the staircase. 

"... only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Snape was 
saying. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?" 

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"As soon as Macnair returns with the dementors. This whole Black affair 
has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking 
forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last.... I 
daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape... and once young Harry's 
back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly 
how you saved him...." 

Harry clenched his teeth. He caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and 
Fudge passed Harry and Hermione's hiding place. Their footsteps died 
away. Harry and Hermione waited a few moments to make sure they'd really 
gone, then started to run in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, 
then another, along a new ,corridor -- then they heard a cackling ahead. 

"Peeves!" Harry muttered, grabbing Hermione's wrist. "In here!" 

They tore into a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves 
seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in boisterous good spirits, 
laughing his head off. 

"Oh, he's horrible," whispered Hermione, her ear to the door. "I bet 
he's all excited because the dementors are going to finish off 
Sirius...." She checked her watch. "Three minutes, Harry!" 

They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, 
then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again. 

"Hermione -- what'll happen -- if we don't get back inside before 
Dumbledore locks the door?" Harry panted. 

I don't want to think about it!" Hermione moaned, checking her watch 
again. "One minute!" 

They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing 
entrance. "Okay -- I can hear Dumbledore," said Hermione tensely. "Come 
on, Harry!" 

They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back 
appeared. 

"I am going to lock you in," they heard him saying. "it is five minutes 

352 



to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do It. Good luck." 

Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his 
wand to magically lock it. Panicking, Harry and Hermione ran forward. 
Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver 
mustache. "Well?" he said quietly. 

"We did it!" said Harry breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak...." 

Dumbledore beamed at them. 

"Well done. I think --" He listened intently for any sound within the 
hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too -- get inside -- I'll lock 
you in --" 

Harry and Hermione slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty 
except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed. As the 
lock clicked behind them, Harry and Hermione crept back to their own 
beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. A moment 
later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office. 

"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my 
patients now?" 

She was in a very bad mood. Harry and Hermione thought it best to accept 
their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they 
ate it. But Harry could hardly swallow. He and Hermione were waiting, 
listening, their nerves jangling.... And then, as they both took a 
fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar 
of fury echoing from somewhere above them.... 

"What was that?" said Madam Pomfrey in alarm. 

Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam 
Pomfrey was staring at the door. 

"Really -- they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?" 

Harry was trying to hear what the voices were saying. They were drawing 
nearer -


353 



"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the 

room with him. When this gets out --" 
"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU 
CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS -- HAS 

SOMETHING -- TO -- DO -- WITH -- POTTER!" 
"Severus -- be reasonable -- Harry has been locked up --" 
BAM. 
The door of the hospital wing burst open. 
Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore 


alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying 
himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself. 
"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" 


"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself!" 
"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, 
we just saw --" 


"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Harry 
and 
Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth. 

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!" 
"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" shrieked Snape. "HE DID IT, I KNOW HE 


DID IT 
--" 
"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you 

are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes 
ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?" 

354 



"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I would have heard 
them!" 

"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you 
are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at 
once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further." 

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly 
shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind 
his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed 
out of the ward. 

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd 
watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore." 

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered 
a severe disappointment." 

"He's not the only one!" puffed Fudge. "The Daily Prophet's going to 
have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our 
fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that 
hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well... I'd 
better go and notify the Ministry..... 

"And the dementors?" said Dumbledore. "They'll be removed from the 
school, I trust?" 

"Oh yes, they'll have to go," said Fudge, running his fingers 

distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to 
administer the Kiss on an innocent boy... Completely out of control... 
no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight.... Perhaps we 
should think about dragons at the school entrance...." 

"Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore, smiling at Harry and 
Hermione. As he and Fudge left the dormitory, Madam Pomfrey hurried to 
the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed 
back to 