Flight of the Hippogriff

The Flight of the Hippogriff was a pivotal event that took place on the evening of 6 June 1994, in which Harry Potter and Hermione Granger used a Time-Turner to successfully rescue the Hippogriff Buckbeak from execution and save Sirius Black from receiving the Dementor's Kiss. The event involved flying Buckbeak to the West Tower of Hogwarts Castle, where Sirius was being held, and facilitating his escape from the castle grounds. This act saved the lives of two innocent beings and allowed Sirius Black to go on the run as a fugitive.

The events leading to the flight were twofold, involving the separate plights of Buckbeak and Sirius Black.

• Buckbeak's Sentence: During a Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Buckbeak the Hippogriff injured Draco Malfoy after being provoked and insulted. Incensed, Lucius Malfoy used his influence at the Ministry of Magic to have Buckbeak sentenced to death by the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The execution was scheduled to be carried out at sunset by the executioner Walden Macnair.
• Sirius Black's Capture: After being wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban for twelve years, Sirius Black escaped and was believed to be hunting Harry Potter. After a confrontation in the Shrieking Shack where his innocence was proven to Harry, Hermione, and Ron Weasley, and Peter Pettigrew was revealed as the true traitor, circumstances changed rapidly. Remus Lupin's transformation into a werewolf at the full moon allowed Pettigrew to escape. In the ensuing chaos, Sirius was injured by Lupin and then attacked by a horde of Dementors at the edge of the Great Lake. He was subsequently captured and taken to Hogwarts, where Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge ordered that he be administered the Dementor's Kiss. He was held under guard in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor of the West Tower.

Realizing both Sirius and Buckbeak were innocent victims facing imminent death, Albus Dumbledore cryptically advised Hermione to use her Ministry of Magic-approved Time-Turner to go back three hours, hinting that she could save “more than one innocent life.”

Following Dumbledore's advice, Harry and Hermione orchestrated the rescue with precise timing.

1. Harry and Hermione used the Time-Turner in the Hospital Wing to travel back three hours, hiding near the Forbidden Forest to observe their past selves.
2. They watched as Dumbledore, Fudge, Macnair, and an elderly member of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures walked down to Hagrid's Hut to carry out the execution.
3. Just as the execution party was about to emerge from the hut, Harry lured Buckbeak, who was tethered in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, into the cover of the forest. Walden Macnair, emerging from the hut, swung his axe in frustration at an empty patch of ground.
4. Harry and Hermione waited in the forest with Buckbeak, witnessing the events at the Whomping Willow and the subsequent Dementor attack by the lake.
5. Realizing that the mysterious figure who saved his past self and Sirius with a powerful Patronus Charm was, in fact, himself, Harry stepped forward and cast his own corporeal Patronus, a stag, driving away over a hundred Dementors.
6. After watching Severus Snape levitate the unconscious Sirius back to the castle, Harry and Hermione mounted Buckbeak.
7. They flew Buckbeak up to the window of Professor Flitwick's office in the West Tower.
8. Harry helped a stunned but grateful Sirius Black climb from the office onto Buckbeak's back.
9. Sirius Black flew away from Hogwarts on Buckbeak, escaping to freedom.
10. Harry and Hermione then raced back to the now-empty Hospital Wing, arriving just moments before Dumbledore locked the door, thus closing the time loop without being detected.

• Rescuers: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger.
• Rescued: Sirius Black, Buckbeak the Hippogriff.
• Facilitator: Albus Dumbledore, who provided the crucial advice and ensured Harry and Hermione had the time and opportunity to act.

The Flight of the Hippogriff was a resounding success with profound consequences for the remainder of the series.

• It directly saved Sirius Black from a fate “worse than death” and Buckbeak from an unjust execution.
• It allowed Sirius to live as a fugitive, from which position he could provide Harry with emotional support and parental guidance, and later rejoin the reformed Order of the Phoenix.
• The event forced Harry to produce a full, corporeal Patronus for the first time, marking a significant milestone in his development as a powerful wizard.
• It was a powerful lesson for Harry and Hermione in the complexities and dangers of manipulating time, as well as the importance of courage and acting against injustice.

• The event is a major set piece in the film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film), featuring a memorable sequence of Harry's first flight over Hogwarts.
• “Flight of the Hippogriff” is the name of a family-friendly roller coaster at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks located at Universal Studios resorts around the world. (theme park)