June 9th, 1994

Hermione struggled to wake up in the Hospital wing, noting it just before eleven. Something had changed, and her senses screamed something was wrong. She'd barely begun to assess things before the headmaster strode into the room, lilac robes billowing around him as he approached.

"I see you're back among us Miss Granger." He smiled in a grandfatherly fashion. "You and Mr. Weasley there," he indicated a bed across the way in which Ron was asleep with a large cast over his leg, "will be right as rain in a day or two under Madam Pomfrey's excellent care. You'll be pleased to know that the dastardly murderer Sirius Black will soon bother you no more. He shall receive the Dementors kiss here in just a few minutes, at eleven o'clock exactly."

"Dementor's kiss? But that'll kill him," Hermione protested.

"Well yes, that is the point." Dumbledore nodded sagely. "He did escape Azkaban, attack students, and there was the whole mess he was incarcerated for in the first place."

"He's innocent," Hermione argued. "He never had a trial; Peter Pettigrew is alive, and escaping false imprisonment is not a crime."

"Ah, so sad to be confounded at such a young age," a sad faced Dumbledore responded. "Give it a few days, I'm sure you'll come to your senses. Now, I'm sure you need your rest, so I'll leave you now. Due to the sensitive nature of what is about to occur, I'm afraid I'll be locking you two in."

"What an ass," Harry's voice said softly as he faded into view once the doors were shut.

"Yeah," Hermione sighed, "then again, so are you at times."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"Here, yes. Saving your godfather? No," she pointed out, getting to her feet. "You only have a few minutes."

"No, we have hours." Harry said, pulling her to the center of the room.

"Hours?"

"Yes, hours." Harry grinned, pulling on the golden chain around her neck. Hermione held it for a second, then gasped as she realized what he meant.

"The time turner," she exclaimed as she pulled the small hourglass necklace from her shirt. The small device, an hourglass inside a solid gold circle covered in tiny runes, shimmered in the lamplight. Looping the magically expanding chain over Harry's neck, she concentrated and flipped the little disc once, twice, thrice, four times. Around them, the room blurred and lightened, and snapped into focus. Returning the device to under her shirt, she glanced at the clock. "Just enough time, come on."

They raced through the halls, though anyone watching them only saw her, as Harry had faded from anyone else's sight before they had made it through the Hospital wing doors. It wasn't until the bridge leading to Hagrid's that she slowed down, stopping just before the bridge's end. The reason was apparent as they peaked around and saw Malfoy and his cronies gawking and looking down towards Hagrid's hut and the Hippogriff tied up behind it.

"Told you that filthy beast wouldn't like what I did to him," Malfoy was bragging, "see how he likes it with a few feathers trimmed at the neck."

The laughter was evil, and Harry was about to correct it when he paused and looked at Hermione. The anger was there, but so was the determination he'd seen before. Stepping back, he waved a hand in invitation and sat back to watch.

"What you did to him?" Hermione asked, her voice laced with contempt. "All you did was cry and tell your father, then pretend to be injured to get out of things for weeks even though you were healed in minutes."

"You lying little mudblood," Draco spun, bringing him wand up, then staggered as his nose met Hermione's fist. Now, even a normal fist to one's nose hurts rather spectacularly, the fist of a person who was training physically for the last few years hurts considerably more. Draco staggered, stars blinding him as pain was all he could comprehend. Turning to Draco's minions, Hermione cocked an eyebrow.

"Who's next?" she asked sweetly, looking from one to the other. Showing more intelligence than she expected, they stepped back, picked up the stunned Draco, and departed rapidly. None of them noticed the hex that hit them in the back as they departed.

"And that was?" Hermione asked as Harry faded back into view.

"Just a minor laxative hex," Harry said innocently, "keyed to activate next time they come within ten feet of you."

"That's… actually kind of cool, you can key hexes like that?"

"I'll teach you this summer," Harry waved her off. "Now, I believe we were going somewhere?"

"Buckbeak," Hermione cried, turning to hurry down the hill, "come on!"

"Care to explain?" Harry asked as they moved off the path into the woods.

"Buckbeak is the Hippogriff that Malfoy offended earlier in the year, scheduled to be executed here in a little bit thanks to his father. We're going to rescue him."

"I see, and how do we do that?" Harry asked looking over his shoulder. "The Headmaster is coming."

"He escorted the executioner down," Hermione explained. Looking into the cabin, she could see Ron and herself still there. "Why aren't we leaving?"

"What happened when you were there?"

"Ron got his rat back, it's Pettigrew by the way, and then he got…" she trailed off and glanced down at the woodpile they were currently hiding behind and saw a familiar looking rock. Picking it up she continued, "He got brained with a rock… this time it's my turn."

Smirking at the satisfying thwack as she nailed Ron in the back of the head. They continued to watch as the pair exited out Hagrid's back door, just before the Headmaster, the Minister, and the Executioner entered the front. Once the pair had departed, they approached the hippogriff. Hermione bowed as she had been taught in class, but Harry just looked at the beast, who stared back at him. Hermione motioned Harry to bow, but instead she saw him… shift. She wasn't quite sure what changed, he looked the same, but suddenly she could feel Blitz's presence as well. Then, to her shock, Buckbeak bowed deeply to Harry, who returned it with a slight nod. The majestic beast then walked passively along as they led him to the woods.

"What was that?"

"Thunderbirds are the apex, they bow to no one," Harry muttered as they watched the group exit Hagrid's hut. The Minister tried to make a stink, but Dumbledore pointed out that he'd been there when they had entered, and Hagrid had been with them the whole time. Upset but not able to do anything about it, the Minister was led away, back to the castle.

The pair moved around to watch as first Sirius and Ron, then Hermione, followed by Lupin and Snape entered the passage under the Whomping Willow. Once all witnesses were gone, they released the noble Hippogriff to the wild. Blitz's presence warning him not to return to Hogwarts, for it was dangerous now. They watched him take off, flying majestically into the distance. Once he was out of sight they settled down to wait, cuddled together against the cold.

Almost an hour later, they watched the procession exit the tunnel. Lupin changed, the balding feral looking man disappeared, and Sirius was thrown. Hermione stood defiantly before the unconscious Snape and Weasley, defending them.

Suddenly, Harry gasped as Hermione shifted. One moment he saw Hermione and werewolf Lupin facing off, the next he was watching Miss Chief hurling fire, lightning, and eldritch power at a dazed werewolf. Harry turned to her in surprise.

"Surprise." Hermione grinned at his shocked expression.

"You did it!" Harry's shock turned to joy as he hugged his best friend. "I knew you could do it."

"Yeah, and between scorching his ass and…" she paused as a howl sounded, causing Lupin to turn his attention to it, "that, he should be gone now."

They watched Lupin lope off into the woods. As he disappeared into the trees, Hermione searched for Sirius, finding him by the lake.

Seeing where they were as they felt the dementors approach, Hermione realized who had saved them her first time around. She remembered a pair of bright patroni flying across the lake before she'd passed out. Now she knew who had cast them.

"Harry, it was us, I saw us save me before."

"How?"

"Patroni, we cast very powerful patroni," she shivered, "but I don't know how we did, I can barely concentrate now as they approach. I already feel the happiness leaving…I don't know if I can…"

Looking into her eyes, usually so fierce and fearless, and seeing despair shook Harry. He knew she could, he had every faith in her, but she had her own doubts. Gathering his courage, drawing on everything he had, he turned to her and asked, "A patronus is based on a happy memory right?" She nodded. "Then use this one." And he kissed her, hard, putting every ounce of every feeling he had for her, everything he'd been denying. He poured himself and his magic into that kiss, and power and electricity sparked around them as she returned it.

"Ready?" he asked as he broke contact. At her stunned nod, they turned, the power from their kiss still radiating off of them. Together, they shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A wave of power pulsed from the pair; then another. From each of their wands, blinding silver light poured out, and larger than life visages of their animagus forms burst forth. Harry's Thunderbird charged the demons, swooping and wheeling to chase them away. Hermione's Kitsune stood guard over the fallen, occasionally flicking a bolt of power from her tails at any Dementor who got too close. As the last Dementor fled, the pair of patroni presented themselves to their castors, nuzzling them and filling them with happiness before fading away.

"Now what?" Hermione asked as she watched Snape approach the fallen forms of Sirius and the other Hermione. "How do we get back to the Hospital wing where I'm expected and save Sirius?" Hermione looked distractedly over Harry's shoulder. "What is he…that bastard."

Harry turned to look at the object of Hermione's ire. Across the way, they saw Snape grinning wildly as Sirius writhed in pain, twitching, and convulsing. He saw the sickly blood-red light of the spell attached to his godfather, and instantly knew what it was. He also knew they could do nothing to stop it.

"No," he grabbed Hermione before she could act, "I wish we could but this isn't something we can change."

"He's torturing an innocent man."

"Yes, and that is but one of hundreds of crimes he will pay for," Harry sagged in resignation, "but not today. We know he'll return you both to the castle, and it's there that we will free him."

"How?"

Harry pondered and watched as Snape finally released the spell, conjured a pair of stretchers to match the one Ron was on, and took them up to the castle.

"Well, in about ten minutes, we'll ask Tippy which room he's in," Harry explained, pulling her back towards Hagrid's hut. "I suspect it will be a high tower room with minimal access, and given the design of the castle, a window." a hint of a smile appeared. "Care for a moonlight ride my dear?"

Hermione smiled back.

The actual rescue of Sirius was incredibly easy in the end. Harry transformed into Blitz, took them both up to the window of Professor Flitwick's office, where Sirius was being held, and hovered. Hermione brilliantly vanished the window and shocked Harry's Godfather by calling 'Thunderbird for Black'. Recognizing her from the Shack, Sirius joined her, and Hermione conjured the window back. However, she did take artistic license and replace the Ravenclaw eagle with a Thunderbird. They landed in an abandoned courtyard and debarked.

"Thank you young lady," Sirius said, pulling Hermione into a bracing hug. "I don't know why you did what you did, but I'm grateful."

"Hey old man," Harry's voice called from behind him, "that's my girlfriend you're trying to crush."

"Harry!" The rib-cracking hug shocked Harry, while Hermione smiled fondly.

"What happened? Why are you here Sirius?" Harry asked once he could breathe.

"Pettigrew," Hermione said with vitriol in her voice. "He was hiding as Ron Weasley's pet rat."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Sirius pleaded, "when I saw him, I just couldn't stop myself."

"And you couldn't have written more? Told us why you disappeared?" Hermione snapped at him. "You left your Godson with a vague note and no idea what was happening with you."

"I… I did," Sirius admitted weakly. "I just lost it when I saw him."

"Why didn't you ever tell us he was a rat animagus?" Harry asked as tears began to cloud his eyes. "I know you hate talking about him, but that would have been good information to have."

"I thought I did. Why did you think I always called him the rat?"

"Because he was the spy and betrayed you. In any case, I need to get back, I'm sure Snape is going to try to blame me for your escape," Hermione said softly.

"How will you get back? Dumbledore locked the door," Harry asked in concern.

"You're forgetting what I accomplished tonight. I'll already be there when he closes the door." Hermione smiled happily as she shifted into Miss Chief. Then she faded from sight.

"I like her." Sirius grinned, then dodged Harry's punch to the shoulder.

"Come on old man, let's get out of here."