Okay, guys, I know this is a shorter chapter, and for that I apologize. I just wanted to make sure I got this up, so that I wouldn't have that huge gap of time again. Chapter 7 is almost done, and, yeah! So, onward!
It had been a fairly normal day. Fairly normal, except for the fact that everyone was fretting over Harry's trial the next day. And the one who seemed the most nervous was not the boy's designated guardian, (Sirius Black) but his best friend's mother. The woman was beside herself with worry, despite everyone's best antics. Mr. Weasley made her tea, Ginny braided her mother's hair, Fred and George did not pull any pranks, Ron let her keep his prefect badge on hand, and even Rory got in on it, trying to calm her down with techniques he'd learned from being a nurse. He talked about a subject that she loved, he had Mr. Weasley pull out old baby pictures of their children (Remembering to exclude the two albums of Percy's babyhood), he even pulled the Doctor in and had him describe the stars and galaxies they could see through the TARDIS doors.
Nothing seemed to be able to settle her nerves. Even when Hermione reminded her of the loophole in the law for the restriction of underage magic, that it may be used for self defense. Eventually, Mr. Weasley simply took his wife out for a stroll, telling the group not to wait up on them, and that if they were late home, there were leftovers from previous nights in the kitchen for dinner.
With Mrs. Weasley's nervousness gone, it actually seemed to help Harry calm the turmoil that he had been hiding under a collected facade. Because in truth he was nervous. It wasn't Mrs. Weasley's wand on the line, it was his. He had a decent reason to be worried. To pass the time, the group played exploding snap up in Harry's room, and Gobstones. Amy was surprisingly good at both, and continually beat the boys. At least, until River came in and taught them all how it was done.
They passed two hours that way, and then the two Weasleys returned. Mrs. Weasley was much calmer, and almost immediately began busying herself, scolding Mr. Weasley for telling them it was alright to eat leftovers the day before Harry's trial.
The group then returned up to their rooms to finish packing their trunks, where they found the Doctor, who had not come down to greet Mrs. Weasley, sitting with his back against a wall and bouncing a rubber ball off of the opposite. He had everyone's trunks packed, and had even swept the floor and polished the dresser. All in the time the group had been gone. When asked when and how he did he replied,
"I am so bored and so tired of being cooped up! I have to do something, I'm not like you people! How can you sit for days on end without going mad? Well, mad-der." River rolled her eyes and helped him up.
"Come on, Sweetie," she said, "Let's see if the adults will let us outside, maybe we can go on a little stroll," The Doctor perked up, but Amy immediately intervened.
"No," she said, "no flirting, River," River pouted.
"But I'm not flirting," she said, smoothly, before pecking the Doctor on the cheek.
"See!" Amy said, "That is what I"m talking about. I won't allow the two of you outside, alone. Knowing you two, you'll attract some Daleks or something," River rolled her eyes and the Doctor groaned, and slid back to the floor, throwing the ball with more anger than before. That was when Harry had a stroke of brilliance.
"Maybe we can go see Buckbeak," he said.
"Um, who's Buckbeak?" Rory asked.
"Oh, you'll love him!" Hermione said, "Come on!" With that she, Harry, and Ron lead the other four up and into the stairwell. They went up three flights, until they came to a level with only one door. They opened it and went inside, and there sat a beautiful creature. With the head, wings, and front feet of an eagle and the back half of a horse, Buckbeak was truly a gorgeous specimen. The Doctor, seeming to realize what type of creature it was, immediately bowed down, quickly followed by the rest. When Buckbeak bowed in response, the group moved over. Amy caught his sleeve, and asked,
"How did you know to bow to him?" The Doctor smirked,
"I speak everything, Pond. I simply heard him say, 'Bow down to me, puny mortals' and complied" Amy rolled her eyes, and walked towards the magnificent creature. Buckbeak lay back down, and they began petting his feathers.
"I'd love to take him for a spin," River said, admiring his wings.
"Yeah, well that's not going to happen for a while. You are officially petting a fugitive hippogriff," said a voice from the doorway. The group turned around to see Sirius standing there.
"And, that is different from living in a fugitive's house how?" Amy asked. Sirius smirked, but didn't answer. He bowed slightly, walking forward when Buckbeak dipped his head in response. Suddenly, the Doctor jumped to his feet.
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I have some things to work on. I will see you all at dinner," and he sprinted out of the room. Ron began to call after him, attempting to ask what, but Rory stopped him.
"Just don't" he said, "it won't do anything,"
Hours past and evening rolled around. The six walked downstairs, and found everyone gathered in the kitchen, everyone, that is, except for the Doctor. Mrs. Weasley was serving bowls of soup, at looked creamy and delicious. The group sat down together, and looked at the empty chair on Rory's right.
"So, where's the Doctor?" Sirius asked, looking at the empty seat.
"I don't know, he probably lost track of time," Amy replied.
And that was when they heard the scream
.