Leaning back against the wall, he winced as the movement pulled on sore muscles and stilled so he wouldn't aggravate them even more; not that it mattered much as it would soon all be over anyway.

But as much as it should, the thought didn't frighten him and even the knowledge that the rat had escaped once more couldn't stop the singing in his heart.

"You look awfully happy for someone about to face a fate worse than death," Peeves' soft voice commented as he came to rest beside him.

"I have every reason to be," he smiled even as tears gathered in his eyes but he made no move to wipe them away this time as they were not of grief. "Harry knows the truth, he and Remus both do."

"So I've heard, you didn't get Peter, though."

"They'll get him eventually and they'll have better luck than I had," reaching out, he squeezed his old friend's hand. "Thank you, for everything you've done for me."

"Don't speak as if this is the end, we'll get you out of here," Peeves growled, pulling away.

"I don't see a way out of this; the window is magically sealed and even though I can break through it, we're too high up to escape through there and I'm too drained to even attempt to break through these wards, even if I had a wand in my possession," he closed his eyes, continuing in a whisper. "I'm tired Peevsie, I'm so tired of always having to fight."

"Siri..." a cold hand found his again as the Poltergeist trailed off. "You can't give up now, Harry needs you."

"Does he? He's formidable for one so young," despite himself, a smile found its way to his lips again. "Stubborn and quite mad, too."

"And utterly loyal. But then, what else would you expect from a boy carrying both your and James' blood?"

"They would be immensely proud of him," carefully rising to his feet, Sirius made his way to the magically locked window. "He didn't want us to kill Peter; said James wouldn't have wanted us to become murderers."

"Sounds remarkably like you once did when James wanted to kill the Blacks for their actions."

Flickering his eyes away from the dark world outside, Sirius met Peeves' dark ones. "Maybe we were both gullible."

"Perhaps," the Poltergeist came close. "But you don't really believe that, do you?"

"No," Sirius sighed. "But that doesn't mean I don't still want him dead."

"With good reason and who knows, you might still get your chance some day," dark eyes bore into his. "But you need to be alive to be able to get that chance."

"Is this your version of a pep talk?" Bemused Sirius squeezed Peeves' hand. "Because as sweet as it is, I wasn't lying when I said I don't see a way out of this."

"We'll think of something, we have to," reaching out with his other hand, Peeves brushed his thumb over Sirius' cheek. "I'm not letting you die here, no matter what."

"You might not have a choice."

"We'll see about that, but you should sit down for now before you keel over," Peeves eyed his cuts and bruises warily and bullied him down into the chair again. "What happened?"

"Had to stop Moony from harming the children, but he was much stronger than I remember him being."

"You are not exactly in top shape," the Poltergeist pointed out, looking up at sounds outside of the office.

"You should leave before they discover you here."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Then at least turn invisible so they can't see you. I don't want you to get into trouble because of me."

"I'm a Poltergeist, trouble is what I live for," but Peeves did as he was asked.

"We should discuss how we're going to get you out of here. Hogwarts can't undo these wards, but maybe Pippy can break through them."

"She can't, these are Flitwick's specialized wards. They are made specifically to hold out magical beings."

"Would you be able to break through them if I gave you access to my magic?"

"I don't know, I might," Sirius leaned back in the chair. "I would need to combine our magic to hide your signature and be in constant contact with you, but in theory it should be possible."

"Then let's do that," the lingering cold moved closer as Peeves undoubtedly held out a hand for him but before Sirius could so much as move a knocking caught his attention and he looked up to the surprising sight of his godson hovering before the window on a Hippogriff.

Scrambling to his feet, he hurried over to the window even as Peeves exclaimed in disbelief.

Harry's friend, Hermione, pulled out her wand and undid the magical charm on the window without a problem, but Sirius could only stare at the sight in disbelief. "How...how..."

"Get on, there's not much time!" Harry yelled at him. "You've got to get out of here, the Dementors are coming. Macnair's gone to get them¹."

Without thinking Sirius wiggled through the small window, thanking Merlin for being so thin and slid onto the Hippogriff behind the girl.

"Ok Buckbeak, up," Harry ordered the animal. "Up to the tower, come on!"

The uneven flight of the Hippogriff as it rose was uncannily familiar as he remembered flying around on them years before and he had no problem keeping his balance even as he reached out to steady the girl seated before him as she slipped.

Her hair whirled wildly in the wind and he had to bite back a smile as Crooks' entirely accurate name for his owner flashed through his mind momentarily.

The animal landed on the top of the West Tower and both teens slid off immediately but Sirius sensed he wasn't supposed to get off so only slid forward.

"Sirius, you'd better go quick," familiar green eyes looked up to him. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment; they'll find you've gone."

"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" He had to ask even if he sensed the urgency there was in leaving, feeling guilty for the boy's injury.

"He's going to be okay," Harry told him urgently and Sirius couldn't help but drink in the sight of his boy properly this time.

"How can I ever thank..."

"Go!" both teens shouted, interrupting him and clicking his tongue, the Hippogriff turned around.

"We'll see each other again, I promise. You are truly your father's son, Harry..."

The Hippogriff seemed to sense something as he suddenly took off before Sirius could add anything else, swallowing his happiness at being given the chance to get to know his godson properly.

Glancing back he just saw the small dots of his godson and the girl disappear inside before his eyes fell onto the open window to see Peeves hovering just outside it and waving happily at him.

Waving back although he was fairly sure the ghost wouldn't be able to see it from the rapidly growing distance, he turned back to brush a hand over the Hippogriff's flank and concentrated.

'Thank you.'

The wave of acceptance washing over him mentally told him the animal wasn't capable of sentient communication like Crook was, but the Hippogriff´s soft stroke of friendliness also informed him he was capable of understanding human speech.

"I'm Sirius, am I right in having heard Harry call you Buckbeak?" He combined it with a mental image of Harry, getting both a confirmation and a questioned feeling send back.

"Yes, he is mine," smiling, Sirius glanced back at the by now nearly invisible castle one more time before he brushed a hand over the soft feathers of Buckbeak's neck. "Let's get somewhere safe."

As they disappeared into the clouds to make their way to Merlin knew where, Sirius knew they had to leave for now, but even so he fully intended to keep his promise of seeing his godson again, no matter what else might happen.

"Let's find an owl office somewhere far from here," he told Buckbeak and strong wings shot them forward as the animal accepted his intention without question.

Maybe he could start with a letter and an apology offer to the red haired boy for what had happened before bombing his godson with all the things he wanted to ask and tell him.

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¹ Most of the words spoken from here have been taken directly from Prisoner of Azkaban chapter 21: Hermione's Secret.