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Brad, Mike, Jason, Eric, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco Malfoy all sat outside the Headmaster's office, waiting quietly. Minister Fudge and Mcnair were inside with Hagrid already, the appeals process having been started with Headmaster Dumbledore as witness.
Dumbledore had already spoken to Fudge about letting all witness testify. Fudge sputtered a bit, but without Lucius there to argue the point, he relented. Fudge was reading the charges to Hagrid, who was considered the custodian of Buckbeak. After that was done, the group would be lead in and the actual appeals process would begin.
It stayed silent in the room, not just due to nerves about testifying, but tension since Draco was there. The boy wisely kept quiet, and the others didn't want to start any drama, so they did the same.
Brad knew that the Gryffindor celebration at winning the House Cup was short-lived. Exams had been so close around the corner that they'd needed to get back to studying right away. The previous day the last of the exams were completed. All that was left was figuring out grades,+ a process that took a couple days due to the quantity of material that needed grading. There were a lot of students at Hogwarts these days.
The school year had passed quickly. Brad could hardly believe it was almost over. He idly wondered what it would be like, having the summer off. What do you even do? He tried to imagine himself in civilian clothes, sleeping in a bit and…his mind went blank. He had no idea where he'd begin.
"Enter," a deep voice called from the apparently now-open door. Mcnair, Fudge's assistant in this appeal and the executioner should it fail, was standing in the doorway and beckoning them in. They complied silently, each taking a seat. Once everyone was settled, Fudge started.
"Right, so this appeal, called for by Rubeus Hagrid, in regards to the trial and sentencing of the hippogriff called Buckbeak, shall begin. Mr. Malfoy, as you are the injured party, would you please tell us what happened." Fudge beckoned the boy forward. "And, who will be conducting the cross examination?"
The room was silent for a moment. None of them had been part of an appeals process before, and thus none of them knew that they needed someone for that particular task. Just a moment after things started to get uncomfortably quiet, Brad stood up.
"That would be me, Sir," he replied. Fudge eyed him suspiciously as the rest of the group turned to look at the operator, but he ignored it. Hagrid wouldn't be up to the task. No offense to the gentle giant, but he was much too kindhearted and a little dim to be a lawyer. Harry and Ron were too personally anti-Malfoy to stand a great chance at success, and Hermione, though book-smart, wasn't as aggressive as he figured necessary. That left him, as leader of the rest of the team, to take the role.
"Right..." Fudge looked around for any argument, and since he got none, decided to carry on. "Mr. Malfoy, in your own words, please describe the events of that day."
"Okay, sir," Malfoy said in an overly sullen tone. "Professor Hagrid told us we would be dealing with hippogriffs and that we should take turns approaching them. Potter went first and rode the creature and it was kind of hyper when it got back. The Professor insisted it was safe for me to approach though, so I did. I tried to bow and it attacked me, almost killed me..."
Fudge waited for a moment to see if there was any more to add. When Malfoy didn't speak up, he turned to Brad expectantly.
"To confirm, Sir," Brad said to Fudge, "Lying is not allowed up there?" Fudge looked at Brad with an almost awestruck face.
"Well, of course not!" Fudge exclaimed.
"Yes, Sir," he replied. "Just double-checking." Brad paused a moment, buying himself a little time to think. He knew for a fact that Malfoy had caused the incident. He also knew that Malfoy was not used to being challenged. That was hopefully something that could be exploited.
"What can you tell me about the personality of a hippogriff?" Brad asked. Malfoy looked at him, puzzled by the strange question. Fudge waited patiently, so Malfoy answered.
"I...er...I mean they are supposed to be really prideful," Malfoy answered, a little ungracefully. Brad noted that he was on edge, and wondered how much of it was due to the unpleasant experience of filling sandbags for a night.
"Really prideful," Brad repeated. "So, that's why you bowed?"
"Yes," Malfoy said cautiously. The boy couldn't tell where Brad was taking things and it was obviously making him uneasy.
"How prideful is a hippogriff?" he asked. Malfoy shrugged a bit, so Brad turned to Hagrid. "Care to comment?"
"They're righ' prideful, they are." Hagrid shook his head enthusiastically, glad for any chance he could take to help Buckbeak. "I tol' 'em, don' insult a hippogriff, it'll be the last thing yeh do!"
"Thank you, Hagrid," Fudge put in quickly, not wanting the man to go on another long-winded rant. He'd had enough of that during the actual trial. "Continue," Fudge said to Brad.
"So, when you approached Buckbeak, what did you say?" Brad asked. Malfoy shrugged.
"I don't remember," he said, just the hint of a smirk on his face.
"Didn't you call it an ugly beast?" Brad asked seriously, stepping closer to Malfoy. There was a look of shock from a few of the wizards in attendance, knowing that such a statement would be well over the line for a hippogriff.
"What!?" Malfoy exclaimed. "No, I-"
"An ugly beast, 'not even suitable as taxidermy!'" Brad said, using air quotes and raising his own voice to match Malfoy's.
"No, I didn't, I-" Malfoy started, but was cut off again.
"You deny it?" Brad asked loudly, and Malfoy took the bait.
"I just said he was easy!" he shouted, wanting to make it over the top of whatever Brad might say. "Easy and not dangerous, that's ALL!" he waved his hand in a motion of finality, and only then did it dawn on him that the room was silent.
"Oh, right...that's what it was," Brad said quietly.
"Is that true?" Fudge asked after giving Brad a harsh look. He wasn't particularly approving of riling people up to get them to talk and had just been about to put a stop to it when young Malfoy admitted to his words.
"I...yes," Malfoy sank back into the chair. There wasn't much going back now.
"Well within the range of instigation for a hippogriff," Dumbledore commented to no one in particular.
"Sir," Brad said to Fudge, "we have provided you with additional copies of our original incident reports. I think you'll find that what Mr. Malfoy admitted to lines up pretty well with the reports."
"Right," Fudge replied. "I'll have to take a moment to review these..." he trailed off, putting glasses on the edge of his nose and staring down at the first report. It took several minutes before he was satisfied. "Alright, well...we must still complete the process, I'm afraid. Mr. Malfoy, please step down. Mr. Potter, up please."
It was lengthy, though cut-and-dried after that. He called each one to the stand to relay their view of the events. It took a long time, with Fudge comparing their verbal statements to their written ones. The students followed a similar procedure, with Hagrid appearing last.
Finally, they were dismissed for Fudge to review things and come to a decision. It didn't take long before they were called back into the Headmaster's office for the verdict.
"On the subject of attack by a hippogriff, in light of new evidence that Mr. Malfoy's original testimony was...less than truthful, and overwhelming evidence in support of that fact; there is no choice but to find the hippogriff, Buckbeak, not guilty. All charges are dropped and this appeal is dismissed." He gestured for them to disperse.
They only just made it outside the room when Brad was picked up from behind in a great bear-hug. He fought the urge to fight back, realizing mentally that he was in no danger, even if his reflexes were telling him otherwise.
"You did it!" Hagrid exclaimed, letting Brad go and taking turns hugging each of them. They celebrated the triumph briefly before Hagrid invited them to his hut for a real celebration...butterbeer and pastries. They accepted, it was a welcome excuse to get their minds off of waiting for grades to be posted.
By the time they'd made it to the hut, it was almost five in the evening. Harry was shocked at how long the appeals process took, but it was worth it. Seeing Malfoy get bested in front of the Headmaster and the Minister of Magic himself was priceless, not to mention how happy Hagrid was. It was truly a great evening. Once the butterbeers were out, Brad stood up and beckoned his team to do the same.
"We have a bit of work to catch up on back at the castle, prepping for the end of the year and all," he announced. "You guys celebrate, have fun, and congratulations again Hagrid."
"You lot help'd more than yeh know!" Hagrid clapped Brad on the back, perhaps a little rougher than necessary. Brad figured the man never gotten used to his own strength. He took it in stride though and the team left the group to celebrate, having made plans to come and escort them back to the castle later in the evening.
A little over an hour later, Hagrid had enjoyed perhaps one too many and was singing loudly. The three students were enjoying the jovial folk songs he bellowed, more out of seeing his enjoyment than anything else. Even Fang joined in at one point, howling loudly at the right moment in the song.
They were laughing along when Ron sputtered something incomprehensible and dove headlong under the table. It interrupted Hagrid's song as the great man started laughing, while the two friends wondered what in the heck Ron was doing.
"I can't believe it!" he shouted, crawling farther under the table and swiping at something.
"What are you doing?" Hermione asked as he shot forward again, swiping his arm in between her ankles and surprising her.
"It's..." Ron stopped short as he lunged one last time, shooting his hand forward to grab it and then hold it close to his chest. Panting he stood up, his hands cupping close to him, something struggling to get out. "It's Scabbers, he's alive!"
Ron produced the rat, and sure enough, it was him. Harry and Hermione both gawked at it for a moment before Hermione started in.
"I told you Crookshanks didn't do it!" she shouted, not forgetting the weeks long fight they'd had.
"Well, he could have!" Ron seemed to know his defense had fallen short.
"I think you owe Crookshanks an apology!" she exclaimed.
"Well I...OUCH!" He yelped, suddenly letting go of the struggling rat. It dropped an uncomfortably long distance to the ground. Scabbers impacted with a soft thud and began scampering toward the door. "It's me you little arse!"
The rat scurried underneath a dresser and up the back end with Ron and Harry chasing after, trying vainly to catch him. It popped out from the top of the dresser and jumped out of an open window. Ron didn't hesitate, darting outside. Harry followed quickly, leaving Hermione alone with Hagrid, who was mumbling to himself about how he shouldn't have had so much to drink. She took off after them.
Ron chased Scabbers across the open field and it was surprising how fast the little rat could be. Harry and Hermione pursued, unable to see the rat but at least capable of following their friend as he scampered around. Finally, he seemed to catch Scabbers at the base of a tree, stuffing the poor creature into a pocket in his robes and standing up triumphantly.
"Ron, look out!" Hermione called, finally recognizing where they were. "It's the Whomping Willow!" Ron froze but it was too late. They heard the creaking of branches moving.
Suddenly, a large black dog darted past them, pawing at a large knot in the tree's side. The tree stopped moving, but before they could react to the new development, the dog seized Ron, who was busy looking up at the tree, by the ankle and started dragging him down into a burrow at the base of the tree.
"HELP!" Ron cried out, "It's got me! HELP!" Just like that, Ron was gone and the night was silent. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other and then both darted toward the hole. The tree started creaking again, but it was too late for it to respond. They made it to the hole and dove in after Ron, wands at the ready.
Inside was a long, dark passage. It was tall enough to walk in, but still uncomfortably cramped and pitch black. Harry and Hermione both illuminated the ends of their wands, but the light only reached so far.
"Where does it lead to?" Hermione asked.
"I dunno," Harry replied honestly. "It's on the map but Fred and George said no one's ever made it past the Whomping Willow to find out. It goes towards Hogsmeade though."
That was all the conversation they allowed. With nowhere else to go, they pressed onward. It was a long way in the darkness, the only light being that which their wands produced. They ran as fast as they could, for as long as they could. By the time they reached the end, they were both doubled over and breathing deeply. The pain in Harry's side was irritating but not enough to prevent him from moving.
They had reached a door. It was old, with peeling paint and a tarnished handle. After a moment's pause, they heard nothing. Ron wasn't screaming. That was either really good or really bad.
"Here goes nothing," Harry said, pushing the door open. They walked inside a dimly lit, ramshackle house. There was a little furniture here and there, but it was covered in dust and there were deep gouges in the walls and on the floor.
"Harry, I think we're in the Shrieking Shack." Hermione whispered, a little fear in her voice.
"I don't think ghosts did that," he said, pointing at the gouges.
They crept forward, following a clean streak made in the dust along the floor. It was the only obvious path. It led them down a hallway and to a room at the end, where they heard whimpered breathing.
"On three," Harry said, readying his wand and checking for Hermione to do the same. She did and he counted. "One...two...three!" They burst into the room, both facing the occupied bed. A very dusty Ron covered with several scrapes was laying there fearfully, pointing at them. Harry put his wand away and took a step toward his friend.
"It's...he's a...it's a trap, he's behind you," Ron sputtered, struggling to complete the sentence. Finally, Harry looked behind them and, melting out of the shadow, was Sirius Black.