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The three had ended up sitting just within the treeline of the Forbidden Forest, bored, watching the entrance to the tunnel under the Whomping Willow as they waited for their past selves to emerge.

They watched as Lupin and Snape both entered a few minutes apart, and then spent the next hour watching Buckbeak frolic around in the trees.

Iris leaned her head back on the tree she was sitting up against, looking upward and seeing the tops of the trees etched against the darkening sky. Bats flew around them, Buckbeak snagging one in his large mouth.

"At least someone's enjoying himself," Hermione commented.

The two siblings and their loyal best friend sat together in the lengthening shadows, their eyes glazing over the blank scene up on the hill in front of them.

"Iris, Hermione..." Harry started.

The pair of girls hummed in unison, "Yes?"

"Before. Down by the lake. When we were with Sirius... I did see someone... that someone made the Dementors go away..."

Iris looked out over the horizon, watching the last bit of sun fade in silence.

"With a Patronus," Hermione said, "I heard Snape telling Dumbledore when we were taken to the hospital. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it."

"It was my Dad."

Iris' back straightened as she turned to Harry in shock.

"It was our Dad who conjured the Patronus," he continued.

"Harry," Iris hesitated, "Dad's --"

"Dead. I know," he snapped at her. "I'm just telling you what I saw."

Hermione nodded, sharing a glance with Iris, neither girl wanting to press Harry further. The Potter girl glanced beyond the trees, toward the Whomping Willow releasing a deep sigh quietly.

"Here we come," Hermione said lowly from beside her.

The three stood sharply, ready to move.

Iris watched them all exit, studying herself and Sirius as they spoke solemnly.

"Harry... there's something you should know --"

A sudden howl pierced the night, cutting her off. Their faces all dropped, the light of the full moon illuminating the fear expressed across them.

They watched in mild fascination as their past selves screamed, Sirius and Remus both fighting one another in animal forms.

Iris observed herself running after Sirius and the Professor just before a voice spoke from beside her,

"Let's go!" Harry urged, running around the edge of the forest following the two brawling animals and Iris.

A fierce growling was heard as twin silhouettes of a dog and a werewolf bound into the tall grass. They got there just in time for Iris to see the mysterious glowing red shield fade as the werewolf went back to targeting Sirius.

She had never been more confused by something magical. Not even growing up and being able to see into people's minds. At least then it was able to be explained as her having a mental illness. Her Aunt and Uncle had tried therapy, an attempt to make her less of a 'freak' after saying she could hear voices in her head. Of course, it didn't work, and she thought she was insane until Professor Dumbledore told her otherwise, teaching her how to control it.

This though... she had never seen anything, never even heard of anything like it.

The werewolf had turned, beginning to stalk toward Sirius as Iris' past self stood behind, raising her wand at the werewolf professor.

A loud howl burst out from just behind her present body, making Iris jump. She wheeled, seeing Hermione, hands cupped to her mouth, making a loud howl.

Harry immediately covered her mouth asking incredulously, "What are you doing?"

"Saving their lives."

Iris looked back to the tall grass. The werewolf was frozen. As before, it begins to approach Sirius again when another howl rang out from Hermione and that time, Harry didn't stop her.

"Thanks," Iris told her gratefully.

Harry's eyes widened, "Great, now it's coming for us."

They all took a few steps back, watching as the werewolf began barreling down the hill toward them.

"Yeah, didn't think about that... Run!"

Iris, Harry, and Hermione dashed for their lives, swinging behind a huge tree to hide. They slowly circled the tree, hearing the werewolf growling softly on the other side of the large trunk. The three students paused when they heard the werewolf run off before continuing to step around the tree.

Until there was an angry growl from behind them. They all whipped around and found Lupin, fifteen feet past, waiting. They froze, staring at the large werewolf.

The werewolf poised itself, preparing to pounce, when... SKREEEK! The trees shook with the fury of a hurricane and Buckbeak charged into the clearing, screening the three Gryffindors. The werewolf snarled angrily, moving to charge. With lightning-fast reflexes, Buckbeak's claws slashed the air only inches from the werewolf's face. The werewolf stopped, eyes glittering with rage, then howled. Turning, it vanished into the forest.

They all let out a breath of relief.

"Poor Professor Lupin is having a really tough night..." Harry muttered.

Just then, a chill wind rose. The leaves of the trees trembled and eerie shadows fluttered over the moon, greasy as smoke... Dementors.

Looking upward through the trees, they could see hundreds of Dementors streaking in and out of view.

"Sirius --" Iris said under her breath.

Harry grabbed her and Hermione's hands and started running in the direction the Dementors were travelling in, "Come on!"

They stuttered to halt behind some trees, watching the scene before them, terror-stricken. Opposite them, across the lake a cyclone of Dementors whirled madly above Iris, Harry and Sirius.

Iris watched herself and Harry vainly attempt to conjure a Patronus as the cyclone only continued to grow. She knew that once past-Harry dropped it would all happen.

"This is horrible..." Hermione said.

Harry was staring wide-eyed out at their struggling forms, waiting for something that would never come, "Don't worry. Our Dad will come... Right there... you'll see... he'll come... any minute... he'll conjure the Patronus."

The girls eyed Harry warily. He was transfixed, staring hungrily toward the outcrop. The wind rose and the lake began to freeze. One after another, Dementors dropped from the sky, vanishing in the cyclone...

"No one's coming, Harry..." Hermione warned.

Harry responded desperately, "He will! He will come!"

They all looked out. Nothing. Despairingly, Iris' eyes flashed to the cyclone, to the pitiful sight of herself, Harry, and Sirius at the water's edge... wracked with pain... dying...

"No one's coming! You're dying, both of you... and no one's coming!" Hermione yelled.

Three

She watched Harry stagger across the lake.

Two

The Harry next to her gazed over at his past self, eyes lighting up.

One

The past Harry went down, falling to the sandy earth below him with a resounding finality as his consciousness started to leave him.

Harry pushed by her, finally understanding, as he ran over to the edge of the frozen lake and shouted, in unison with Iris' past,

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A wisp of silver escaped his wand, hovering like a mist, then bloomed magnificently. The trees explode with light as two Patronuses took flight galloping over the lake. The lake blazed with reflected fire. Harry stood utterly still, wand extended to the heavens. Across the lake, the Dementors retreated. Harry waited, still as a statue, until each and everyone is gone.

The Patronus fades as it returns to him, and across the lake Iris sees the same happen to her just moments before she loses consciousness. Harry turns back to them, a little grin on his face as he lets out an awestruck breath.

And then they were off once more, on to their last step in the rescue plan: Breaking Sirius out of his cell.

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A few minutes later the three sat astride Buckbeak, soaring toward the castle. They dropped Hermione off in the courtyard since there wouldn't be enough room for four of them on Buckbeak, and then Iris and Harry took off once more to save her godfather. Outside the grounds, the Dementors were waiting restlessly. She could see up ahead, Fudge and Snape entering the Dark Tower, torches in hand.

Iris tried her best not to look anywhere close to downward for she knew she would start panicking more than she already was.

"I hate flying so much..." Iris muttered, squeezing her eyes shut as Harry laughed at her.

The twins quickly landed Buckbeak just outside of the cell door where a nervous looking Sirius was pacing. He looked at them shocked, rushing over to the door.

Iris pushed past Harry.

"Out of the way!" She raised her wand, still using her left hand rather than her right, "Alohomora!"

Sirius tested the iron door to find it still locked.

Iris nods sullenly, "Didn't really expect that to work."

She could tell that Fudge and Snape were drawing nearer. Wand flashing, Iris tried spell after spell.

"Dunamis! No. Liberare! No. Annihilare! No. Emancipare! No."

She started pacing just in front of the door, Harry standing helplessly behind as she tapped her fingers against her lips in thought.

"You might try --" Sirius started.

"Quiet! I'm trying to think."

She resumed pacing, muttering furiously, trying to think of any other spells she had ever been taught that would be useful. Then she stopped suddenly.

Whirling back toward the door she shouted, "BOMBARDA!"

With a loud bang, the lock on the cell door exploded open and the metal bars swung open.

"That'll do." Sirius shrugged.

They took off on Buckbeak, down to the courtyard where Hermione was waiting, just as Fudge and Snape reached the top of the tower.

Sirius laughed, hair blowing in the wind.

When they landed, Hermione rushed over as Sirius got off. He puts his hands to Iris' waist, swinging her off Buckbeak and onto the ground next to Harry.

"I'll be forever grateful for this. To all three of you."

Harry and Hermione walked a little ways away to give them privacy to say goodbye.

Iris looked at her feet as she bounced nervously on her toes, "I wish I could go with you."

Sirius stared sadly at her, "One day perhaps. For some time... life will be too... unpredictable. Besides, you're meant to be here."

He clapped her shoulder, looking Iris in the eye, "But promise me something, Iris."

She nodded earnestly, "Anything."

"Trust yourself," he said softly, "No matter the challenges you face -- and I fear they will be many -- you'll be surprised how many times you can find the answers just within yourself."

Iris' mouth tilted down in a frown as she tried to hold back her tears. She wrapped her arms around Sirius, squeezing him into a tight hug as he held her like a father would.

He gently pulled away, resting his hands on her shoulders and bending down to look at her.

"I suppose you're tired of hearing this... but you look so much like your parents." He cupped her head in his hands, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb, "It's cruel that I got to spend so much time with James and Lily, and with you so little..."

His eyes roamed her face, seeing the ghost of her parents reflected back at him, "But know this -- the ones that love us never really leave us. And you can always find them..." He tapped her heart, "...here."

He gave her a smile before turning back to a waiting Buckbeak. As Sirius climbed atop the hippogriff a shooting star raced across the sky.

"A shooting star. Make a wish," Sirius told them.

He then gave Buckbeak a slap and they took off, soaring into the glittering sky.

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Only one more chapter and then we're done with Prisoner of Azkaban! I can't tell you how excited I am to be moving on to Goblet of Fire, I've got some crazy stuff planned that you're all gonna kill me for!

Also, my birthday is tomorrow and I'm really excited, so I'll be posting another chapter tomorrow in celebration!

I hope you guys enjoyed third-year! Tell me what you want for fourth-year, I'm open to suggestions for scenes and things!

thanks for reading! I really appreciate all you guys voting, commenting, and following me!

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