AUTHOR NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF HARRY POTTER OR THE CHARACTERS - THOSE RIGHTS BELONG TO J.K. ROWLING.

THIS STORY CONTAINS THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS REGARDING SUICIDE. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY SUCH THINGS, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY. IF YOU ARE IN THE UNITED STATES AND FIND YOURSELF THINKING OF SUICIDE PLEASE CONTACT THE NATIONAL SUICIDE HOTLINE AT 988.

This story has many things happening in parallel timelines. I've tried to divide the chapters to make sense, but the chapters are of varying lengths. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 1

Harry Potter watched as the hippogriff, Buckbeak, flew gracefully out into the night air with his godfather, Sirius Black, on his back. A tear slowly trailed down his cheek, but he wasn't aware of it. For less than an hour, he'd had hope. Hope that he could leave the Dursleys forever. Hope that he would have a place to live that didn't include a cupboard under the stairs, bars on the windows, or locks on the door. Hope that there was finally someone who would love him. Hope that he would finally have a place to call home. All of that was gone because of the word of a professor with a grudge against his father and a Minister who wouldn't listen.

Everyone thought Sirius Black was the secret-keeper who had told Voldemort how to get to his parents, and, eventually to Harry. He didn't. It was their friend, Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew had framed Sirius for their deaths and then faked his death. Sirius had been in the wizard prison, Azkaban, for 12 years before he'd escaped to come after the traitor.

Tonight, it had come to a head with Sirius and another friend of his parents, Remus Lupin, outing the traitor Pettigrew for who he was. A man that had hidden in his animagus form of a rat all that time and lived with a wizarding family, the Weasleys. Harry, with his best friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, had confronted Black in the Shrieking Shack, only to learn that he was not the traitor. Pettigrew had hidden as a family pet first with Percy Weasley and now with Ron. Black and Lupin forced him back into his human form and all had heard his confession. Unfortunately, before that happened, the Potions Professor, Severus Snape, had interrupted the confrontation. He'd been stunned before he could hear Pettigrew's confession.

As they were returning to the castle to turn Pettigrew over to the authorities, Lupin had turned into his werewolf self. During the confusion, Pettigrew managed to escape. All of the effort they had gone through to get Pettigrew's confession had all been for naught.

Snape brought the three students plus Black back to the castle. The students had been taken to the hospital wing while Black had been taken to another office to await justice. Harry and Hermione had awakened just in time to hear their Potions Professor telling the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, that Black must have confounded the students to believe he was innocent. The Minister believed Snape and wouldn't listen to anything the students had to say.

Then the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, returned to the hospital wing and gave them a hint as to how they could still help. It seems Hermione had a time turner that she was using to get to all of her classes throughout the year. By going back three hours they had managed to rescue Buckbeak from execution as well as Sirius Black from the ministry.

Now they were at the point where they had to return to the hospital wing before anyone suspected they'd had a hand in Black's escape.

*** From "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling ***

"Harry!"

Hermione was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch. "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us – before Dumbledore locks the door – "

Harry started moving with her then he suddenly stopped. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't pretend that everything was fine when it wasn't. He couldn't take another summer with the Dursleys. His final lifeline had been severed – there was no further hope left for him. He had made his decision two days ago; now he was going through with it.

"Harry! Come on! We've got to get back to the hospital wing now! We'll create a paradox in time if we don't!"

"I I I can't, Hermione," Harry stuttered, "I can't go back. You go on. Tell them I'm in the loo or something," said Harry.

"Harry, I'm not going to lie for you," as Hermione grabbed his whole arm intending to drag Harry back with her but she didn't realize just how strong Harry was. Harry had lots of practice slipping out of Vernon's grasp; Hermione's was nothing in comparison. He slipped out of her grasp and ran down the stairs quickly. By the time she got down to the bottom, he was gone. Hermione knew she couldn't take the chance of creating the time paradox and quickly made her way back to the hospital wing, slipping in with two minutes to spare. Taking a few pillows, she stuffed Harry's bed to make it look like someone was sleeping before quickly hopping back into hers and pulling up the covers. Wherever Harry was, she hoped he knew what he was doing.