I nodded, grinning.

"But -" Hermione began. And then her eyes became very round. "OH!" 

"Now, pay attention." Dumbledore said, speaking very low, and very clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, all of you - you must not be seen. Daisy, Hermione, you know the law - you know what is at stake ... you - must - not - be - seen."

Dumbledore and Emily turned on their heels and he looked back as they reached the door.

"I am going to lock you in. It is -" He consulted his watch. "Five minutes to midnight. Three turns should do it. Good luck."

The door closed behind them. I whipped out my Time-Turner.

"OH, that's what he was on about!" Terry grinned.

"Harry, Draco, you go with Mynee. You guys, you're with me." I grinned at the Insurgents.

I threw the chain around their necks as we huddled together, as the other three did the same. I turned the hour-glass over three times. Everything blurred and colours and shapes rushed past us. Then, suddenly, everything came into focus again - we were standing in the Entrance Hall. I lifted the chain off Terry, Fred and George.

"In here!" Hermione dragged us all into a broom closet. 

"Orgy, Hermione?" George smirked.

"Not complaining!" Fred smirked too.

"No." She shot them both a dirty look. "Now shh, we're coming!"

Footsteps sounded across the hall, along with a clatter of small-sounding claws. They faded as we probably went down the front steps.

"Daisy, go out and check that we're gone." Hermione said.

I swiped the Cloak from Harry and threw it over me. I sneaked out of the broom closet and peeked around the side of the doors. We were gone. Well, our past-selves were. No, our present-selves ... I don't even know anymore -

Someone came careering around the corner towards the eight of us heading towards Hagrid's hut. Not the ones in the broom closet. Damn, this is confusing -

The person slammed straight into me and we both fell over. The Cloak slipped off me.

"Bruh!" I blurted.

* The person - a guy, by the feel of it - tugged me up in a super-strong grip and wrestled me around the corner.

"What the hell, man?" I huffed at him.

"Still not got it yet?" Floppy's voice sounded behind me. 

"Are you serious?" I moaned. "Again?"

Think of the time we're wasting! If we're going to rescue Buckbeak - which is what I assumed Dumbledore meant us to do, as well as save Sirius - we're going to need to move fast! I can't use my powers - because I can't, not in situations where I'm nervous, I've found out - I know, I need to get a grip on that...

"Again." Floppy said behind me. "And you'll be moaning in a much different situation -"

I flicked my heel up, but he shifted behind me and I kicked his thigh instead.

"Now, now, play nice." I heard the smirk in his voice.

"Says you, Mr Hypocrite." I hissed. I strained against the arms hooked around my own.

"Oh?" He yanked me closer. "What violence have I ever used against you?"

I tried to facepalm. "Are you serious? Let's see ... when you punched me in the face, when you cut me open, when you used the Cruciatus Curse on me ...?" I strained my fingers downwards, towards my pocket, where my wand was.

Floppy laughed. "I can do all three of those again..."

"No you won't." I grasped the end of my wand and flicked it up at his face, which was difficult because he was behind me, but I managed because I'm Daisy Potter and I'm awesome. "Now get off me before I hex off your balls or something."

Floppy stared down at me, a lazy smirk growing across his face. He reached out, grabbed my wand and - and SNAPPED it. In half. It was only hanging together by the phoenix feather.

"Oh yeah?" He said huskily as he tucked the two pieces into his back pocket and grabbed me around the waist, staring down at my chest.

SHIT.

"Don't worry, you'll get up close with my balls very soon -" *

"Oh no she won't!" A girl with long, curly black hair tore around the corner towards us - ME?! She flung a hand at Floppy, and he flew off me and landed in a crumpled heap on the other end of the corridor. The other me stood over him, a smirk growing on her face, and she lifted her hand - Floppy started to writhe on the ground, emitting bloodcurdling shrieks...

"Run, bruh!" She called to me. "Haven't you got a job to do?"

"Thanks, mate!" I gasped, scrambling up. I sprinted down the corridor and around the corner. I heard a fading voice calling after me, "And by the way, don't kiss His Lordship -"

The last bit sounded a bit sarcastic. But I had a place to be, two lives to save, and a brother to piss off, so I had to get going.

I swiped up the Cloak and dived into the broom closet. 

"Where WERE you?" Harry shook his head at me.

"Floppy." I said simply.

"What did he do to you this time?" Fred growled.

"Can you not go anywhere alone without him trying to do shit to you?" George sighed.

"He's a bloody stalker." Terry growled.

"I can take care of myself!" I said. Literally. 

I told them all that had happened as we all sneaked down to Hagrid's hut, the rest of the Insurgents in their Animagus forms, me not transformed, as I was taking the place of Ron. We all hurried into the trees near Hagrid's hut. We heard him talking to us, then the door shut. The past us, I mean. No, the present us - never mind.

Terry, Fred and George transformed back.

"You serious? You saved you?" Fred shook his head. "That's badass."

"Did he seriously say that? About his balls?" Draco's hands tightened into fists. "He's sick."

"I know, mate, I know." I patted him on the shoulder.

"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done." Harry said fervently.

"Let's move along a bit." Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"

We crept through the trees until we saw the nervous Hippogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch.

"Now?" Harry whispered.

"No!" Terry said quickly. "If we steal him now, those Committee assholes will think Hagrid's set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen he's tied outside!"

"That's going to give us about sixty seconds, dude." George said, voicing my thoughts. 

'This is starting to seem impossible.' Harry sent to me.

'Nothing's impossible!' I sent positively.

At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.

"That's Hagrid's breaking the milk jug." Hermione whispered. "I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment -"

Sure enough, a few minutes later, we heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.

"Guys." I said suddenly. "What if we - we just run in there, and grab Pettigrew -"

"No!" Hermione said in a terrified whisper. "We can't be seen -"

"We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!" 

"Daisy, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?"

"I'd know it was me from the future - I've done this before - gone back to meet myself -"

"What about everyone else? Would that be the first thing that came to mind for them?"

"My past self would tell them!"

"Look!" Draco pointed at the castle. Dumbledore, Fudge, and the old Committee member, and the executioner were coming down the steps.

"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed.

And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and I saw myself and my squad walking out of it with Hagrid.

We went, and the other group coming down from the castle entered Hagrid's front door. I heard them speaking inside.

"We - er - have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it." Fudge's voice sounded.

It was now or never.

"Wait here." I whispered. "I'll do it."

As Fudge's voice started again, I darted out from behind my tree, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch and approached Buckbeak.

"It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the Hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall be executed on the sixth of June at sundown -"

Careful not to blink, I stared up into Buckbeak's fierce orange eye once more, and bowed. Buckbeak sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again. I began to fumble with the rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.

"...sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair..."

"Come on, Buckbeak." I murmured. "Come on, we're going to help you. Quietly ... quietly..."

"...as witnessed below. Hagrid, you sign here..." 

I threw all my weight on the rope, but Buckbeak had dug in his front feet.

"Well, let's get this over with." The reedy voice of the Committee member from inside Hagrid's cabin said. "Hagrid, perhaps it would be better if you stayed inside -"

"No, I - I wan' ter be with him ... I don' wan' him ter be alone -"

Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.

"Buckbeak, move!" I hissed.

I tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. The Hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. We were still ten feet away from the Forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door.

"One moment, please, Macnair." Dumbledore's voice came. "You need to sign too." The footsteps stopped. I heaved on the rope. Buckbeak snapped his beak and walked a little faster.

Draco's white face was sticking out from behind a tree.

"Daisy-flower, hurry!" He mouthed.

I could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. I gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot. We had reached the trees...

"Quick! Quick!" Everyone darted out and added their weight to the rope to make Buckbeak move faster.

We were now blocked from sight.

Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. We all stood quite still; even the Hippogriff seemed to be listening intently. 

Silence ... then -

"Where is it?" The Committee member said. "Where is the beast?" 

"It was tied here!" The executioner said furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"

"How extraordinary." Dumbledore said. There was a note of amusement in his voice.

There was a swishing noise and the thud of an axe. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger.

Minutes later, and we were in the trees near the Whomping Willow. 

"There's you and Ron!" Terry said suddenly to me.

A dark figure and a small shape were sprinting across the lawn and the figure's shout echoed through the still night air.

"Get away from him - get away - Scabbers, come HERE -"

And then we saw six more figures materialise out of nowhere. I watched them chasing after Ron and me. Then I saw Ron dive.

"GOTCHA! Get off, you stinking cat -"

"There's Sirius!" Harry said. The great shape of another dog had bounded out from the roots of the Willow. We saw him bowl Harry over, then seize Ron...

"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" Fred said.

"Ouch - look, I just got walloped by the tree - this is WEIRD -" George said.

The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; we could see ourselves darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk. And then the tree froze.

"That was your bloody cat pressing the knot." Terry said to Hermione.

"And there we go..." Draco muttered. "We're in."

We watched Lupin, Emily, and Snape go in too, Lupin and Emily minutes ahead of Snape and minutes after us.

"So that's that, then. We just have to wait until we all come back out." I said, sitting down with my back to a tree. Everyone collapsed too around me. Terry pulled me into his lap.

'Daisy...' Harry sent to me. 'Those people who sent the Patronus's ... were they ... they looked like our dad, and the other looked like ... well, I dunno, his face was in shadow, but I could see his hair, it was like Draco's...'

'Yeah, same. Do you think the woman could have been our dad's sister or something? They just looked so alike...' I sent back.

'I dunno...'

Terry's hand cupped my chin, pulling my head gently around to his, and we shared a kiss. He nibbled on my lip, and I grinned against his.

Much later, though I didn't notice because I was in dreamland with Terry, we all clambered out of the hole in the roots of the Willow.

The moon slid out from behind its cloud. We saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Then we saw movement -

"There goes Lupin." Hermione whispered. "He's transforming -"

"Guys." I said suddenly. "We've got to move!"

"But Daisy -"

"Not to interfere! But Lupin's going to run right at us!"

We hurried away, Hermione gasping, and us Insurgents tugging on Buckbeak. We reached the Lake and dived into the bushes, Fred and George tying Buckbeak to a tree trunk.

Sirius and Emily, in their Animagus forms, stumbled onto a bank and yelping drifted across the water towards us as the Dementors started floating towards them.

The seven of us staggered across to them just after the two of them changed back.

One by one, they all collapsed. Only my brother, my boyfriend, and I remained.

Where were they? Where were our saviours?

Minutes passed, and just as Fred turned away, his hopeful face falling, shaking his head, it hit me. We didn't see my dad, some relative of his, and some other guy. Well, we did see the latter, but they weren't just any old relative and guy. They were US.

Harry and Draco seemed to have had the same thought, for they both leaped to their feet at the same time I leapt to mine.

We all sprinted to the edge of our bank and the two boys raised their wands. But I didn't have one ... mine's currently in the back pocket of Floppy's trousers.

Fuck it. I raised my hand, and willed my powers to help me. I thought the words from earlier on as we were all getting attacked on that other bank. But this time, I let myself think of Draco. As one, we all yelled, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A silvery-white dragon burst from my hand, as a stag burst from Harry's wand, and a shih-tzu puppy burst from Draco's. The puppy had a lightning bolt-shaped scar on its forehead...

The three Patronus's swept around the Lake, driving away the Dementors. Once their job was done, they turned, and floated back towards us. We all raised our hands towards our Patronus's. A dragon ... Draco...

On the opposite bank, Harry and I collapsed.

"Prongs." Harry whispered, reaching out for the stag's antlers. 

I thought of that weird dream I had in the hospital wing at the end of first year. How did I know?

Our Patronus's faded, and I turned to Harry and Draco. 

"What was your happy memory?" I said, amazed. Those were some powerful Patronus's.

Harry shrugged. "I just knew that I had already done it."

Draco stared into my eyes, a small smile creeping onto his face. "I thought of you."

"I thought of you, too." I breathed. Only then did I realise how close we were. Since when were we so close that our chests were touching?

His minty breath fanned my face, and he leaned down ever so slightly. I felt his hand move up my arm and gently cup my face. My hand bunched up the material of the hoodie covering his chest. His lips brushed against mine and my eyes fluttered closed.

Draco's other arm snaked around my waist and my other hand tangled itself in his hair. I've always loved his hair...

He pressed harder on my lips, and bit gently on my bottom lip. 

I opened my mouth slightly and he rubbed his tongue against mine.

We broke apart, breathing heavily.

Then I remembered my boyfriend.

SHIT.

Terry was standing, a murderous look on his face. Harry stepped in front of me as George poured a load of coins into Fred's hands. Hermione had a small smile on her face.

But then Terry launched himself at Draco.

"You - BASTARD!" He pinned Draco to the ground and raised a fist.

"Stop!" I cried, shoving Harry aside and knocking Terry over. "Don't hurt him!"

Terry got up, brushing himself off, and looked at me, the murderous expression gone, a blank slate left instead. He extended a hand, and I took it hesitantly. He pulled me up, and I noticed I didn't feel anymore sparks when I touched his hand. He pulled me close, and whispered in my ear, "We are DONE."

Then he let go of me. I looked around nervously at the group, turned on my heel, and led the way up to the castle. 

"Um, you four go up to the battlements on West Tower -" I said to Fred, George, Terry, and Hermione. "Draco, Harry, you're with me and Buckbeak."

I didn't want Terry to kill Draco, that's why I took him with us even though there was barely any room.

We all clambered onto Buckbeak and we flew up into the air, towards the sky. We guided him towards the fourteenth window, then tapped on it. Sirius, who was inside, looked up.

I saw his jaw drop. He leapt from his chair, hurried to the window, and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Alohomora!" I said, and the window sprang open.

"How - HOW -?" Sirius said weakly, staring at the Hippogriff.

"Get on - there's not much time." Harry said, gripping Buckbeak.

Sirius clambered out of the window and onto Buckbeak behind us.

"OK, Buckbeak, up!" Harry said, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower - come on!" 

The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and we were soaring upwards again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements and Harry, Draco, and I slid off him at once. We joined the others, who were a few feet away.

Sirius was still staring down at Harry and I.

"How can I ever thank -"

"You have to go!" I insisted.

Sirius wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.

"We'll see each other again." He said. "You are - truly your father's children, Daisy, Harry..."

The Hippogriff took off into the air ... they became smaller and smaller ... a cloud drifted across the moon ... they were gone. 

We hurried down to the hospital wing. Dumbledore and Emily had just left.

"Look." I said quickly. "I have to go and save myself. There's me coming back now -"

I pointed at the end of the corridor where I was hurrying down towards us. I looked to be limping slightly, and blood was trickling down my face.

"Oh my Godric, Daisy, no, you can't go if he's going to do that to you -" Draco caught my sleeve.

"He would have done it anyway if I hadn't saved myself. Besides, I need to, or else we wouldn't have saved Buckbeak in time." I insisted.

Without waiting for an answer, I wrenched myself away from Draco and turned my hourglass three times.

Colours and shapes whizzed past until I was standing where I was in the future, only without my squad. I sighed, ran my fingers through my hair, and started purposely down the corridor. I finally reached the corridor where Floppy was restraining me.

* “Don't worry, you'll get up close with my balls very soon -"

"Oh no she won't!" I called, and I raised my hand. Floppy flew off past-me and landed in a crumpled heap near me. I clenched my hand, channeling my powers into a wave of hatred, and he started writhing and shrieking.

"Run, bruh!" I called to my past self, who was watching, still shaking with terror. "Haven't you got a job to do?"

"Thanks, mate!" She gasped, and tore away down the corridor. I had a second thought. What if I told myself not to kiss Draco, maybe I would still have my boyfriend -

"And by the way, don't kiss His Lordship Draco Malfoy!" I called after me sarcastically, remembering the smirk on his face when he caught me staring at his lips in the hospital wing.

Someone tackled me from behind and we both crashed to the ground. 

"If this is you, who's that?" Floppy whispered in my ear, his breath tickling me. I writhed beneath him, trying to get away. "Is this another part of your powers? Like that other time you twisted time on the Astronomy Tower?"

"Y-yeah, something like that." I half-lied, panting. "Now get off me."

I felt the panic starting to settle in. I remembered that I was limping and bleeding when I came down that corridor... 

"So how about that coming up close with my balls, then, Weakling?" He hissed menacingly into my ear.

"I'd rather skin myself then jump into the sea." 

"I can do that for you..." 

"Please do, I'd like to see you burn..." I grinned darkly at him.

"You know that's not what I meant!" He growled at me. I felt a hand on my behind.

"Go fuck yourself!" I blurted at him in a panic.

"I'd rather fuck you." I turned my head and saw a dangerous look in his eyes.

I snapped my head forwards and cracked his. He yelped and scooted off me, clutching his forehead. I staggered up and -

Floppy caught my ankle and brought me to the ground again. He crawled on top of me and raised a fist. I turned my head to the side quickly, and his fist hit the ground. 

"You bitch!" He hissed, rubbing his knuckles. Before I knew what was going on, a fist connected with my face and everything was black for what felt like a few minutes, then I surfaced into consciousness again.

Damn, he hits hard.

He was still on top of me, but we were now in an empty classroom and my shirt was off.

Shit...

"I know you're pretty fast, so let's just -" He smirked at me once he saw that I was awake, and twirled his wand at my right ankle. There was a twisting feeling that was getting quite unbearable - I started to scream - Floppy's hand clamped down on my mouth - then it stopped, but my ankle was on fire.

"What - did - you - do?" I panted.

"I twisted your ankle." He said simply.

We had a stare-off for a few minutes, equal amounts of hate in our eyes. 

I felt his hand start to drift to my chest. 

"Just because you can't get a girlfriend." I hissed with all the hatred I could gather.

Moments later, and blood was trickling down my face and staining Floppy's fist. He kissed me roughly, just as I passed out yet again.

It was ages before I woke up, in a panic. Who knows what he could have done to me when I was out?

He was leeched to my lips, his hands still roaming my body. He was fading in and out of my vision as my head whirled round and round. 

How was I going to get out of this?

And most importantly, where was my self-defence mechanism?

Speak of the devil - just as Floppy roughly tried to wrench away my knickers, a bright white light shone from my hands and he flew off me and crashed into a desk. *

I stood up, blood trickling into my hair, my ankle shaking, and summoned my shirt to me. I threw it over my head, and pulled up my jeans from where he must have tugged them off me when I was out the second time. I felt a new dark confidence sweeping through me, and I raised my hand, smirking.

The bloodcurdling shrieks started up again. Floppy was writhing on the ground in pain, his face twisted with terror. 

"Stop ... please ... I'm sorry..." He moaned, his voice shaking.

Ha. Pathetic. I laughed at him, and increased the amount of power flowing through my hands. He arched his back, his eyes rolling back into his head. I was enjoying this. How long have I waited to pay him back...?

I wanted to stay here forever, making him pay for what he'd done, because this was easily by far the most pleasurable thing I'd done. The screams, the pleading, the visible pain, were all feeding the dark clouds in my mind. I heard a whisper, a familiar voice, a slightly smug, triumphant, and gleeful voice, from the middle of the darkness in my head, "That's it, Daisy ... make him pay..."

Oh, I will...

I suddenly remembered my wand. I stopped my powers, and held out my hand.

"Wand." I said simply.

Floppy, shaking, barely met my gaze as he dropped the two halves, held together by only the feather, his hand trembling, into my hand.

"Do you know how hard it is to mend these?" I said in a low and menacing voice. Floppy trembled. "A normal wand can't do it." I don't know where I had got the information from - facts on magic - quite often on Dark Magic - kept popping up in my mind - and to stay. Facts from first year I could still remember.

I was quite sure it was something to do with the piece of himself that Voldemort had put into me, like Dumbledore had said.

"Please ... I'll do anything to make up for it ... just please don't hurt me again ..." Floppy whimpered.

I laughed darkly. "Pathetic. Do you know just how weak you are? And you're the one calling me weak? You're pathetic, Malfoy." I leaned down so that our faces were nearly touching. I smirked as he dropped his gaze from my eyes. I leaned closer, so that our lips brushed. He closed his eyes, his breathing erratic. I drew back, grinning lazily. "See? Weak. Pathetic." 

"Please don't hurt me..." He whispered weakly, looking like he was about to faint.

"Luckily for you, I can fix wands." I said. Which was weird, because I didn't know that I could, and I didn't think of the words beforehand, they just tumbled out. The dark clouds increased. I got the scary feeling that he was controlling me.

He? Why did I think that? Did I mean 'they'?

I balanced the two halves of my wand in the palm of one hand. I raised my other hand, and it glowed bright. I couldn't see the wand - until the light faded, and there it was, just sitting in my hand, looking brand new.

I smiled slowly at Floppy. "On your knees."

He obeyed, fear clouding his eyes.

"Now kiss my feet."

He obeyed again, shaking. Oh, the POWER ... this is nice, I could get used to this...

"I'm ... sorry..."

"I don't think you're sorry enough." I laughed.

I raised my hand again, and he fell back against the legs of the desk, screaming bloody murder. Before long, he was passed out, still twitching slightly every few seconds.

"Whoops, maybe overdid it a bit there." I giggled. I turned on my heel and limped slightly up to the corridor of the hospital wing. I saw past-me turn her Time-Turner three times and disappear.

"Daisy!" The whole lot of them rushed towards me with the exception of Terry.

"What happened?" Harry gasped.

Oh dear. What happened? Well...

Let's just say that I got my revenge and dear old Floppy is out cold in a classroom on the ground floor.