Before Malfoy could spit out the word "beast," Buckbeak's feathers exploded outward. Rage flashed in his orange-yellow eyes at the insult. His front claws reared up, eagle head thrust forward, and he let out a deafening screech—
Hagrid, still new to being a professor, lacked experience with sudden crises. He managed to shout a warning at Malfoy, but his body moved a beat too slow.
Luckily, Julien reacted faster than any normal human should. Perhaps it was because he already knew how the story was supposed to go.
The moment Malfoy opened his mouth, Julien's wand had already snapped into his palm. He didn't aim at Buckbeak—he aimed at Harry.
"Impedimenta!"
An invisible barrier snapped into place in front of Malfoy. At the same instant, Buckbeak's razor-sharp claws swept across—
Bang!
The shield shattered. Malfoy was hurled backward, tumbling out of the danger zone in a pathetic heap. By sheer luck, Buckbeak's talons only tore through the hem of his robe instead of his chest.
"Enough!" Hagrid roared, rushing forward and planting his massive body between Buckbeak and Malfoy. "Back up! Everyone, back up!"
Julien slowly lowered his wand, feeling the faint tremor of magic still echoing through his body. The spell hadn't drained him much, but he was more worried about Buckbeak. The hippogriff was shaking violently, consumed with fury.
"It's all right, Buckbeak," Hagrid said, making a gentle downward motion with both huge hands. "Easy now… easy." He reached into his pocket and tossed the hippogriff a dead ferret.
Malfoy scrambled to his feet, brushing dirt off his robes. When he saw the other students watching with barely hidden smirks, his face twisted with humiliated rage.
"I'm writing to my father!" he snarled. "The school keeps dangerous creatures around with no regard for student safety!"
"Exactly! I'll write to my father too. Merlin, Draco, are you all right?" Pansy Parkinson rushed over in a panic, fussing over him.
Julien walked over to Hagrid. The half-giant was crouching down, using one enormous hand to gently calm the still-trembling Buckbeak.
"Professor Hagrid," Julien said quietly, "I suggest we end the lesson early. Buckbeak needs rest, and Malfoy—"
He glanced back at the platinum-haired boy still angrily dusting off his robes. "—should probably go to the hospital wing. Just as a precaution."
Hagrid looked up at him, gratitude clear in his eyes. "Thanks, Mr. Black. You're right…"
"Hagrid!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione came running over.
"I'm sorry," Hagrid said guiltily, looking at the three of them. "I messed up the whole lesson."
"It's not your fault," Harry said quickly. "It was all Malfoy's own stupid fault. We were all here—we'll testify for you."
"Yeah!" Ron added right away. "Julien was fine the whole time. It was completely Malfoy's attitude. Right, Julien?"
"That's true," Julien nodded slowly, "but Malfoy's father…"
"Yes," Hermione finished the thought, "we all know Lucius Malfoy will use his influence on the school board to cause trouble. He already tried it last year with the Chamber of Secrets and Dumbledore."
Hagrid's shoulders slumped even further. "I don't care what happens to me, but I don't want to drag Dumbledore into it. Or poor Buckbeak…"
---
As the students drifted away in small groups, Julien took one last look at Buckbeak. The hippogriff was watching him too. The orange-yellow eyes no longer held caution—they held trust and quiet expectation.
"We'll save you," Julien whispered, low enough that only Buckbeak could hear. "We'll save all the souls who were wrongly imprisoned."
"What are you muttering about?" Liriya tilted her head.
"Did something happen when you were riding the hippogriff?" Elizabeth asked at the same time.
"I saw the hippogriff's memory," Julien said.
"What? You saw Buckbeak's memory?" Liriya's eyes widened.
"Not just Buckbeak's. The collective memory of the entire hippogriff species. They… are the origin of the Dementors. At least the first ones."
Both girls gasped in unison.
Julien lowered his voice. "Come on. Let's go to the edge of the Black Lake. I'll tell you everything."
---
Liriya's long silver-white hair was no longer always braided like it had been at the start of term. More often now it fell loosely over her shoulders, carrying the natural sheen of northern spring water.
As Julien spoke, her mouth stayed slightly open the whole time, her clear ice-blue eyes growing a little misty.
Elizabeth Rosier, more rational by nature, kept her brows tightly furrowed. She was already calculating the chances of the three of them successfully reaching the island—now called Azkaban—and completing their task.
"According to what you described, there are far more Dementors on that island than we expected. When exactly are we supposed to move?"
"Not yet," Julien said. "When Sirius Black actually shows up at Hogwarts—when he finds what he's really looking for—more Dementors will likely be pulled away. That will be our window."
"How do you know what Black is looking for?" Liriya asked sharply.
"I know a little more than you might think," Julien gave a sheepish smile. "Right now, the most urgent thing is saving Buckbeak. He's going to be our guide."
"Hasn't he never been to the island either?" Elizabeth asked.
"No, but the path back is written in his blood. Like migratory birds that always find their way home, no matter how far they fly."
"What's 'blood' in this context?" Liriya asked.
"Uh… Muggle way of saying something passed down through the lineage. Not important."
"So you're saying Buckbeak is in danger?" Liriya looked genuinely worried for the poor creature.
"In the original events—according to how pure-blood families like the Malfoys operate—they'll definitely use this to make trouble. Buckbeak might even be sentenced to death because of what happened today."
"Death?!" both girls exclaimed at once.
Liriya looked especially upset. "If that's possible, we should just let Buckbeak escape right now."
"No. If we set him free immediately, when the Ministry people arrive and don't see him, it'll drag Hagrid and Dumbledore into even bigger trouble. Trust me—I have a plan."
Julien knew exactly how it had gone in the original story. Hermione and Harry had gone back in time and only released Buckbeak after the Ministry's executioner and Fudge had seen him. At that point, both Dumbledore and Hagrid had been with them the entire time, giving them a perfect alibi.
"Of course we trust you," Elizabeth said, "but I still can't believe Sirius Black will actually show up at Hogwarts."
"I think it's possible," Julien replied. "If he could break out of Azkaban, getting to Hogwarts isn't out of the question."
The sky was growing dark. Two separate groups of three students made their way back toward the Great Hall, chatting quietly.
In a corner none of them could see, a large black dog watched the castle's warm lights with eyes burning with madness and desperate hope.
He had no idea that three third-year students were already planning something even crazier than his own prison break:
To sneak into Azkaban and heal the wound in the world.