I unfortunately do not own the world of Harry Potter. That honor belongs to J. K. Rowling.

I would just like to say a quick thanks to Loonynamelass, Macey247, Sam-EvansBlue, Allen Pitt, xandromedax, Princess-Lazy-Chan, Celeste Belle, narniagirl18, Fire-And-Ice-Forever-JB-JH, ixluvxprinny, the lil witch, vnienhuis, Forest Grrl, and Daddys Little Demon.

This is my first fan-fic. Hope you like it! (And if you haven't guessed by now, reviews are greatly appreciated!)

I am writing 5 other fan-fics at this time as well. If you could please check out my profile and check them out, I would greatly appreciate that. Thanks! :)

Chapter 30:

Buckbeak's Death

It was mid-afternoon, a few weeks later, when Ariella suddenly turned, and spoke to the blond haired boy sitting near her.

"Draco?" she asked hesitantly. His head snapped to the side, his eyes meeting hers.

"Yes," he questioned back.

"Buckbeak's going to be killed, isn't he?" she said calmly. It came out as more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, of course," Draco replied haughtily, leaning back in his seat.

"And he deserves it, too. Bloody beast," he continued, his hands now behind his head, legs up. Ariella looked at him.

"Does he?" she said quietly, before getting up, and leaving the Common Room. Draco sat up, and stared after her a moment, before leaving the common room as well, and going after her, meeting up with Crabbe and Goyle on the way. As the three Slytherin boys passed Hagrid, (who was currently talking to "The Golden Trio"), they stopped, and Draco leaned against a wall.

"Look at him blubber! Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?" said Malfoy. "And he's supposed to be our teacher!" What happened next, no one expected. A loud SMACK! echoed off of the walls. Ariella, who was up ahead, turned at this sound, and gasped in disbelief, covering her mouth, and trying, (and failing) to hind her amusement. Hermione Granger had just slapped him across the face. Not to far off, Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle were staring, dumbfounded. By now, Hermione had pulled out her wand, and pointed it at the boy. Forgetting all about the reason he had left the Common Room in the first place, he muttered,

"C'mon," and in a moment, all three of them had disappeared into the passageway to the dungeons.

Meanwhile, Ariella was now almost to Hagrid's hut. She slowly and cautiously approached the tethered hippogriff. She bowed, and, after a few painstakingly long moments, he bowed his head back to her. She made her way to the great beast, and started to pet him gently in long strokes, before leaning into him for a moment, and whispering a few things.

What she didn't know was that the Gryffindor Trio had a similar idea. They watched her, and were amazed at her gentleness with the creature. They really needed to see Hagrid, however, and since Ariella seemed not to be hurting Buckbeak, they hurried along, and were quickly inside of the game-keeper's hut. She simply stayed there, and was so lost in her repetitive action, and in thought that she didn't notice that Albus Dumbledore, Walden McNair, and Lucius Malfoy were there, until she heard the latter's voice.

"What do you think you're doing, girl? Get away from that beast!" Mr. Malfoy said, outraged, but calm. Buckbeak, however, on the site of both Mr. Malfoy, and the ax in Mr. McNair's hand, had reared, causing Ariella to loose her footing, and she fell to the ground. When Buckbeack's hoof came down, it landed hard on the girl's right ankle, causing her to yell in pain. The hippogriff had backed away, and Hagrid had, by now come out to see what was going on.

"Let's go inside, shall we? I'm sure someone can help this girl up while we are finalizing some last minute details." Professor Dumbledore said, staring behind them. Ariella thought she knew whom he was referring to, but she couldn't be sure.

"She does't need any help. She can get on by herself." Mr. Malfoy said, sneering at his servant, before following the others into the hut. Ariella tried to stand once, before gasping in pain, and realizing that she wouldn't be able to.

"Need some help?" said a voice. Ariella looked up to see Harry standing over her, Hermione and Ron not far off. (So I was right, she thought briefly.) Ariella nodded, and a blush crept over her cheeks.

"Thanks," she said as he offered her his hand. He pulled her to her feet, and with help from Hermione, she got up the hill towards Hogwarts, with Ron watching warily.

"Thank you," she said, sitting down momentarily. She then looked over at Ron, who was standing, staring at her.

"Ron, what more do I have to do to prove to you that I'm not a bad person?" she asked, frustrated.

"Oh, really? Let me see why not! You're a Slytherin, friends with Malfoy, and a Parselmouth. What more reason is there not to like you?" he said to her.

"Okay, first off, Draco is not fmy friend. Second, your friends don't seem to have a problem with me, why you? You're always complaining about how Slytherins are so prejudiced, but you're no better! What do I have to do, save your life?" she said back, her voice also rising.

Meanwhile, Ron was also trying to get his pet rat, Scabbers, to go into his pocket.

The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe.

"They did it!" Ariella heard Hermione whisper. "I'd — don't believe it — they did it!" Ariella looked sadly at the ground. Because she felt exactly as the unlucky hippogriff had: trapped, with no way out.

Sorry for the long wait! And sorry to stop in the middle of a scene here, but I felt it necessary. Again, sorry! Forgive me please! :)

Thanks to all who are reading, and liking it. If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, please feel free to review/private message me. Also, if you have any ideas at all, or would like to see something happen, let me know, and I'll consider putting them into a chapter. Thanks! ~ Leanora