This is such classic Dumbledore! He is certainly having a lot of fun here. In fact, Dumbledore often seems to derive great pleasure in making a mockery of people he dislikes, which we’ll see later in this very chapter with Snape and repeated throughout the series. Dumbledore keeps Fudge and Macnair occupied for the evening, and then all hell starts breaking loose two hours later.
Dumbledore is running around dealing with Sirius and Snape and all the ensuing mayhem. What does he know about Buckbeak? He knows that Buckbeak managed to escape. He knows that the Trio are the most likely candidates to be Buckbeak’s rescuers; in fact, who else would do it? But the Trio has made no mention of Buckbeak, the timing does not really line up, and where on earth is Buckbeak now?
Dumbledore is also trying to figure out a way to get Sirius out of Hogwarts safely and quickly. Apparition does not work. There is likely a guard outside Flitwick’s office, so if one were to get to Sirius inconspicuously, it would have to be through the window. There is also no time, so he will have to rely on Hermione’s Time Turner. Dumbledore puts two and two together the way only he can and realizes that he has two refugees on his hands, one of whom can fly. He realizes that if the Trio currently in the hospital wing did not rescue Buckbeak, maybe that is because the time-travelling version did. And that is how he comes up with his brilliant plan to have Sirius escape on Buckbeak and gives Hermione the slightest of nudges: “You will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight.” (PA393)
Coming Up With the Plan
There are two other possibilities for how Dumbledore thought of the plan to rescue Sirius and Buckbeak by using Hermione’s Time Turner, aside from relying solely on his innate brilliance.
The first possibility: that Dumbledore actually sees the time-traveling Harry and Hermione flying on Buckbeak. The timing is such that it could work. We are given three facts:
- Flitwick’s office is not too far from the West Tower (from whence the time-traveling Harry and Hermione run back to the Hospital Wing)
- Dumbledore arrives at the Hospital Wing one or two minutes before the time-traveling begins.
- Dumbledore had “just been talking to Sirius Black” (PA390) when he arrives.
This means that Dumbledore would be finishing his interview with Sirius moments before Harry and Hermione fly in to rescue him. It is possible that Dumbledore saw Harry and Hermione flying by in one of the windows on the thirteenth floor, but knowing that Harry and Hermione are also in the Hospital Wing, he realizes that there must be time travel involved in rescuing Buckbeak and Sirius.
The second possibility relies on some more conjecture: that Dumbledore utilizes the Deluminator magic we discussed in Chapter 2 with some regularity, such as on evenings when he suspects Harry will be going on an adventure to save a hippogriff. Assuming the magic will pick up on all Harrys present at a moment in time who say Dumbledore’s name, this is what Dumbledore would hear shortly before Buckbeak’s execution:
“Dumbledore just said—just said we could save more than one innocent life. . . .” And then it hit him. “Hermione, we're going to save Buckbeak!”
“But—how will that help Sirius?”
“Dumbledore said—he just told us where the window is—the window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak—they can escape together!” (PA396)
Of course, the mention of Sirius would lead Dumbledore to be concerned and confused when he first hears it. He may even have thought the magic was malfunctioning. And Harry does not say Dumbledore’s name during the entire Shrieking Shack scene, so that’s no help at all.
But once Dumbledore spoke to Sirius and understood that Harry and Hermione believed his innocence, then he would remember the weird conversation he’d overheard, and realize that he had already heard what his plan was going to be!
These two possibilities are not mutually exclusive —either, neither, or both could be true. It does not have much bearing on the story either way, but it is entertaining to consider the possibilities that open up when Dumbledore gets involved in time travel.
Dumbledore Deploys Harry
It’s worth noting how Dumbledore’s treatment of Harry and his friends is slowly changing. Dumbledore is now entrusting important missions to the Trio, missions where a man’s life hangs in the balance. This is a far cry from the micro-managed controlled experiment of Sorcerer’s Stone. If we read closely, we can continue to see Dumbledore’s burgeoning affection for and trust in Harry throughout the series.
If it still seems ludicrous to entrust these kinds of missions to thirteen-year-olds, one can look to Dumbledore’s background for an explanation. Albus’s father, Percival Dumbledore, was incarcerated when Albus was around eleven, which would have made Albus (the oldest sibling) the “man of the house.” This independence and responsibility at a young age may have skewed Dumbledore’s perspective on what an appropriate amount of responsibility is for a young teenager.
In an echo of things to come, Dumbledore gives Harry and Hermione the bare minimum of required information to proceed—if we’re being charitable, we can say in this instance it’s because Dumbledore is wary of messing with time. And there is another key aspect of Dumbledore’s scheme in Prisoner of Azkaban that will echo in Deathly Hallows: he entrusts Hermione to be a moderating influence on Harry.
“What we need,” said Dumbledore slowly, and his light blue eyes moved from Harry to Hermione, “is more time.”
[. . .]
“But remember this, both of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law—you know what is at stake. . . .” (PA393)
Dumbledore realizes that Harry is far too emotional at the moment. He knows that Harry has a reckless Gryffindor streak, which we see on display when Harry wheedles Hermione to
