Yes, I know. I know. I know. I'm TRYING to keep to a writing schedule for this week, to hopefully have a couple more up for you soon. But my promises, as you can probably keep track of from the author's notes of previous chapters, aren't that well kept haha. But truly thank you for all the follows, faves and reviews despite my absences. Enjoy this chapter xx

Gryffindor looked very grim as he and Leo walked swiftly out past the wards and into no man's land. The lion founder cast his eyes about, finding the tracks the boys had unwittingly left. There, just ahead, the grass was flattened. Not significantly, but enough to show someone had walked there.

They kept up their hurried pace in that direction. The other three founders had not joined them. Lady Hufflepuff was preparing the Hospital Wing for the worst, and Lady Ravenclaw was distracting Salazar Slytherin. It would not do for him to be here now, with the disappearance of Matteus addling his mind.

When they could hear the guttural squawks of the Valkyries, they knew they were close. "Careful Leo," Gryffindor whispered. "They're sneaky devils."

Leo looked like he was on the verge of saying something, but Gryffindor put a finger to his lips, nodding towards the trees. Sturdy nests, made not out of twigs or brambles but mud, dirt and sap could just be seen, winking in and out of sight as the leaves rustled.

"What do we do, Uncle?" Leo whispered back.

"Go forward," Gryffindor said. "We don't have much of a choice."

They eyed the trees apprehensively as they moved towards the wilderness. There were so many places to hide and Gryffindor was beginning to wish they hadn't built the school so isolated from civilisation.

Leo suddenly stopped, cocking an ear. He motioned to his uncle to follow him. They walked beside a little river, which gradually got wider and wider. It was one of the many streams that replenished the Black Lake.

"There," Leo whispered, pointing up ahead.

The Valkyries were all gathered around a small pit. Two dots could just be made out in it. Harry and Alistair. A Valkyrie, who was in charge by the looks of things, was speaking directly to them, listening for their answers, and then with a flap of wings, ordering his underlings to push dirt into the pit.

"They're burying them alive," Leo said. "Uncle, we have to do something."

"Wait," Gryffindor said. "It's not a swift death sentence. We have time. We can't go barging in there, we'll be outnumbered and at a disadvantage."

"What do you suggest?"

Harry glanced worriedly at Alistair as the latter tried to stifle another sob. The younger boy was terrified, and it showed. Harry was kicking himself. How could he be so stupid, dragging Alistair into this mess? He wished now, more than ever, that Sarah was by his side. Or Ron and Hermione.

"I ask one more time," the Valkyrie above them said, in a cold, calm voice. "Give us your time magic."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry retorted again.

"We don't know anything about time travel!" Alistair pleaded, his voice shaking. "We're just students, we don't have that kind of knowledge or power."

"My sources say you do," the Valkyrie growled, as more dirt was piled in.

Harry was losing feeling in his legs. It was almost up to his stomach now. Alistair, who was shorter, was in up to his chest. Harry looked about, frustrated. What a stupid way to die. He was just about to voice this, goad the Valkyries even more, when they suddenly scattered.

It was like a huge gust of wind had blown them away. Harry's hair was flying in all directions, and he moved his head in the direction of the wind to get it out of his face, so he could see what was going on. Two figures approached them. Harry breathed a sigh of relief to see Gryffindor and Leo.

"It's okay Alistair, it's okay!" he said. The younger boy's tears had been blown away by the wind, and now both his eyes and nose were just swollen and red.

"We cannot release you from this unless we stop the wind," Gryffindor said, shouting to be heard. "We must move quickly. As soon as we stop the spell, we will release you from the dirt. You grab onto me, and I will apparate us back to Hogwarts. Understand?"

"Why can't you just get rid of the dirt and keep the wind?" Harry asked. Though there were no Valkyries in sight, he was nervous about removing the only spell that was holding them off.

"We cannot vanish it, without vanishing the lower half of your bodies," Gryffindor said simply. "Now get ready. Leo, cover us."

Leo nodded, his wand at the ready.

"Three, two, one, NOW!" Gryffindor lifted the wind spell and everything became a piercing quiet. With another swift wave, the dirt came flying back up and Harry stumbled to the ground, Alistair following suit.

"I can't walk," he gasped, unable to reach Gryffindor's outstretched hand.

Gryffindor wasted no time in jumping down into the pit and grabbing a fistful of both Harry and Alistair's robes. Harry heard the thundering flaps of wings and glimpsed large shadows on the ground before he was pulled away.

They reappeared just outside the wards of Hogwarts. Gryffindor had to almost carry both of them up the grounds to the castle. Harry had regained some feeling in his legs by then, and tried to spare himself some humiliation by shrugging out of Gryffindor's grasp and stumbling along the remainder of the way to the Hospital Wing.

"What were you thinking!" Hufflepuff clucked as soon as she saw them. She hurried them to two beds, running her wand over each of them.

"We can talk about their foolishness later," Gryffindor said, giving each boy a look. "I must go and see if Leo's alright."

"Where is he?" Hufflepuff frowned.

"He was covering for us, while we Apparated. He should have come right behind us."

"Go," Hufflepuff said. "I can take care of these two."

Gryffindor nodded to her and hurried away.

Hufflepuff continued her fussing over the boys, chiding them gently. Alistair was looking down in shame but Harry knew that Hufflepuff's lecture was nothing compared to what they were going to get when Gryffindor returned.

"Harry?" said a soft voice

Harry sat up. Sarah peered in worriedly. He gave her a faint smile and her face relaxed.

"Are you okay?" she asked, sitting down between him and Alistair.

"Yeah," he sighed. There was a moment of silence. "Listen, I'm sorry about earlier. You definitely should have told me, but your reasons – they were good reasons. I was just a hothead."

"I'm really sorry as well," Sarah said. "I can't believe you did that though! It was so reckless!"

Harry groaned. "Spare me the lecture, Sar. You already know I'm gonna get it from Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"I-It wasn't because of what I said, was it?" she asked, hesitantly.

"A little," Harry said, but quickly added as her face fell, "but my actions are my own. I was just an idiot."

Sarah glanced at Alistair, who wasn't looking at either of them. "And you Alistair? Are you alright?"

She did not get a reply. Instead, Alistair's head turned towards Huffelpuff, who gave both Harry and Sarah an apologetic look as she conjured up a curtain between them. Harry and Sarah exchanged guilty looks.

"It's probably for the best," Sarah whispered to Harry. "We've put him in enough danger."

"We? You mean me," Harry said with a bitter laugh.

Sarah was about to refute that when a large, silver lion bounded into the room. "Helga, Leo has been seriously injured. Be prepared." Its message delivered, the lion disappeared.

"What can I do to help?" Sarah said, immediately jumping to her feet.

"Just," Hufflepuff looked overwhelmed for a second. "Get out another bed. Pull back the sheets completely. Bring over that bowl as well, and fill it with water. The spell is –"

"I know it," Sarah said quickly.

Hufflepuff rushed over to the grab little bottles of potion, muttering to herself as she put some back and picked up others.

Harry was expecting a whole lot of blood but when Gyrffindor finally appeared, carrying Leo, he didn't expect them to be sopping wet. Gryffindor lay Leo down on the ready-made bed, and Hufflepuff made quick work of removing his robes and pushing them down his torso.

Sarah bit down a gasp as a large, jagged scar was revealed, running from the middle of his chest all the way down to and probably even lower than his abdomen. Gryffindor gripped her arm and guided her away.

"Not for your eyes," he said gruffly, conjuring up another curtain.

"What did you see?" Harry asked. He had been craning his neck to get a look at the condition Leo was in.

Sarah just shook her head.

They could hear Hufflepuff and Gryffindor working. By the frantic sounds, it was not going well. Sarah fidgeted, sharing worried looks with Harry. Then came the words that made their hearts stop.

"Godric, he's not breathing."

"Come on, Leo," Gryffindor growled, his voice containing a panicked edge.

"Have you tried CPR?" Harry cried.

The curtains were wrenched apart.

"What's that?" Hufflepuff said, quite desperate.

"Two breaths, thirty compressions," Sarah said.

Harry gave her a surprised look.

"Wizards use it too. Muggle science is almost as good as magic," Sarah mumbled.

"What is that?" Gryffindor repeated, looking from one to the other.

"You hold back his head –"

"No time, Harry!" Sarah said, "He hadn't been breathing for at least a minute now!"

She ran to Leo's side, pulled back his head, pried open his mouth and pressed her own to it, breathing two deep breaths down his throat. She moved to his chest, and trying her best to ignore the scar, pressed down between his ribcage, counting under her breath.

Her strength began failing her at number fifteen, and she panted to Gryffindor, "Press down here, like this, until I say stop."

Gryffindor nodded quickly taking over from her. Harry and Hufflepuff watched on with bated breath.

"Stop," Sarah said, when Gryffindor had finished the thirty. She pushed back Leo's head again and gave him two more breaths before motioning for Gryffindor to continue.

"I-I don't think this is going to work," Harry said quietly.

"Yes, it will," Sarah said with a fierceness that surprised Harry, and herself.

But as Gryffindor reached twenty compressions a little doubt was starting to creep in. Hufflepuff, ever perceptive, must have read it in her face, and looked like she was about to call it, when Leo spluttered awake.

He heaved loudly, expelling water from his lungs. Sarah gave a cry of relief and Gryffindor helped the older boy sit up, as Hufflepuff quickly conjured a bowl for Leo to throw up in.

"You must have inhaled half the river, lad," Gryffindor said weakly. He gripped Leo's shoulder.

After a few minutes, Leo sat back, trembling. Hufflepuff waved his wand and the bowl disappeared. She waved it again and Leo, his bed and his clothes dried instantly. She nodded towards the bedsheet that had earlier been pulled away, and Sarah quickly covered the shaking boy, doing her best to tuck him in.

"Leave us," Hufflepuff said. "He needs rest. I'm going to give them all a dreamless sleep potions."

Gryffindor looked like he was about to protest, but Hufflepuff gave him a very stern look.

"Alright," he said finally, "but call me if anything changes."

With Hufflepuff's assurances, Sarah and Gryffindor were shown the door.

"I'll come visit later," Sarah called to Harry, who gave her a wan smile. The consequences of his actions were weighing down on him, she could tell.

"You saved his life," Gryffindor said quietly to Sarah, as he walked her to the dormitories.

She flushed a little. "Not really. I mean, Harry would have been able to tell you how to do it."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Gryffindor said. "We are indebted to you."

Sarah shook her head. "Don't. It was nothing. You both would have done the same for me. You did do the same for Harry and Alistair. It was our fault Leo even got injured."

"Assigning blame always makes things prickly," Gryffindor sighed. "And it diminishes people's actions. What happened, happened. It does not take away from what you did."

Sarah had nothing to say to that. They had just reached the portrait, when Sarah blurted out the question that had been on her mind the entirety of the walk.

"How did he get that scar?"

Gryffindor stilled. "That – that's something you should ask him. I will warn you that he is very sensitive about it. He will not be happy to learn you've seen it."

"Sounds fair enough," Sarah said, offering Gryffindor a small but genuine smile.

He smiled back. "I will leave you now. I must go and inform Rowena and Salazar." He sounded very tired.

With a nod, he was walking briskly back down the hallway. Sarah stared up at the Fat Lady, who was pretending she wasn't listening to their conversation. She held her head up and said the password clearly and confidently, actually feeling like a Gryffindor for the first time.