Harry and Hermione use the Time-Turner

Harry and Hermione use the Time-Turner, a device Hermione has secretly carried all year, to travel back three hours and change the course of events. This action, taken on Dumbledore's cryptic instructions, allows them to save both Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Sirius Black from their fates, all while remaining unseen by their past selves and the authorities.

The Time-Turner and Its Secret

The Time-Turner is a small, sparkling hourglass on a long gold chain, which Hermione has worn hidden beneath her robes since the start of the school year. She obtained it from Professor McGonagall, who wrote to the Ministry of Magic to secure permission, swearing Hermione would use it only for her studies. Throughout the year, Hermione has used it to attend multiple classes simultaneously—Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, and others—by turning back time and repeating hours. This explains her impossible schedule and her frequent exhaustion. She has kept the Time-Turner a secret from Harry and Ron, bound by her promise to McGonagall.

Dumbledore's Instructions and the Decision to Act

After the confrontation in the Shrieking Shack, Harry and Hermione are confined to the hospital wing, where they learn that Sirius Black is to receive the Dementor's Kiss and that Buckbeak has been sentenced to execution. Dumbledore visits them, and despite the lack of proof for Sirius's innocence, he tells them he believes their story. He then gives them a cryptic directive: "What we need is more time." He instructs Hermione to turn the Time-Turner three times, and tells them that Sirius is locked in Flitwick's office on the seventh floor, at the thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. He warns them they must not be seen, then locks them in the ward. Hermione immediately understands, and she places the chain around Harry's neck as well, turning the hourglass over three times.

The Journey Back and the Rescue of Buckbeak

The world dissolves into a blur of colors and shapes as they fly backward through time. They land in the deserted entrance hall, three hours earlier, with sunlight streaming through the open doors. Hermione drags Harry into a broom closet, where they hear their past selves walking down to Hagrid's hut. They then sneak across the grounds, hiding behind trees, and watch their past selves enter Hagrid's home. As the execution party—Dumbledore, Fudge, the Committee member, and Macnair—arrives, Harry darts out from behind a tree, approaches Buckbeak, and bows to the Hippogriff. Buckbeak bows back, and Harry unties him, leading him into the forest just as the executioners discover he is gone. They hear Hagrid's joyful howl and Dumbledore's amused voice covering for the escape.

The Rescue of Sirius Black

After hiding Buckbeak in the forest, Harry and Hermione wait until the moon emerges and Lupin transforms into a werewolf. They then ride Buckbeak up to the West Tower, where Harry taps on the window of Flitwick's office. Sirius, startled, opens the window with Hermione's unlocking charm, and climbs onto Buckbeak's back behind Hermione. Harry urges Buckbeak upward to the battlements, where Sirius thanks them and says, "You are—truly your father's son, Harry…" before flying away into the night. Harry and Hermione then race back to the hospital wing, slipping inside just as Dumbledore locks the door, ensuring they are not seen and that their alibi holds.

Consequences and Significance

The rescue is a direct violation of wizarding law—Hermione later explains that meddling with time is one of the most serious offenses, and that wizards have accidentally killed their past or future selves. Yet Dumbledore's plan succeeds: Sirius escapes the Dementor's Kiss, Buckbeak is saved, and the Ministry is left baffled. The event also reveals the true nature of the Patronus Harry saw on the lake—it was not his father's ghost, but his own future self conjuring the stag Patronus. This moment of self-discovery, where Harry realizes he is capable of such powerful magic, is a turning point in his understanding of his own abilities and his connection to his father. The Time-Turner is later returned to McGonagall, and Hermione drops Muggle Studies and Divination to have a normal schedule, ending her year of impossible time management.