Chapter 17

I thought this day would be a good day, but it started horribly. By the time I woke up, Hermione was already gone. Went to see the registry, no doubt. I met up with Harry and Ron and together, we headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The moment we arrived, Rachel ran towards us and whispered, "They're going to execute Buckbeak tonight at sunset."

"What?" I glanced over Rachel's shoulder and spotted Hagrid, whose eyes were red from crying. I then averted my eyes at Malfoy at the Slytherin table, who was laughing. Anger overtook me and I pulled out my wand, ready to fire a curse at him, but Rachel grabbed my arm and held it down. "No, Elliot, you can't!"

"Says who?"

"She's got a point," stated Ron.

"Do you want to give Snape a reason to give you a detention?"

"It would be worth it."

That's when I noticed Amanda wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Where's Amanda?" I asked.

"With Fred. They're trying to…"

But Rachel was cut off when Amanda came storming through the double doors, her face contorted in rage. Before we could greet her, she pushed through and sat at the table. "Guess it didn't go well," I muttered as we sat around her.

The moment we all sat down, Hermione came in and joined us. As she sat down, I asked, "Let me guess, you were in the library?"

"As a matter of fact, I was. I was checking the registry and, no surprise, Peter Pettigrew wasn't on the list."

I sighed. Still, something didn't feel right. But for the rest of the day, the topic of Sirius Black was never brought up. All of our thoughts were focused on Hagrid. We all agreed we were going to go down to his hut before the execution to make him feel better. It was mostly quiet, apart from the occasional shouting matches between Fred and Amanda. Finally, the time came to head down and see Hagrid. As we walked through the clock tower courtyard, we saw the executioner who I overheard from Malfoy calling him Macnair, sharpening his axe. We all shot him a dirty look as we crossed the bridge. The moment the bridge dropped us into the stone circle, we all stopped as we recognized the blonde ferret and his two goons who were staring in Hagrid's general direction. Before I could say anything, Hermione stormed forward. We chased after her as Malfoy turned around and laughed, "Ah, come to see the show!"

Hermione pulled out her wand and shouted, "You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!"

As she spat these words, she cornered Malfoy against one of the stones and pointed her want at his throat. Ron then shouted, "Hermione no! He's not worth it."

"I beg to differ," I muttered, earning me an elbow in the gut by Rachel. Just as I thought Hermione was going to disregard Ron, Hermione lowered her wand and turned. Malfoy began to laugh, but Hermione spun around and punched Malfoy square in the face. We all laughed as Malfoy held his nose and ran off like a little baby. The moment Malfoy was gone, Hermione said with a smile, "That felt good."

"Not good, brilliant!" replied Ron as we ran towards Hagrid's hut. The moment we arrived, Hagrid let us in and offered us tea. I stared out the window at Buckbeak, who was chained to a post in the pumpkin patch. I felt bad for Buckbeak. He was the victim of Malfoy's malice. I turned back to the group inside, unable to take in the pitiful feeling I felt from staring at Buckbeak. I was going to make Malfoy pay. Hagrid walked to the window that I was standing at and sighed, "Look at 'em. Loves the smell o' the trees when the wind blows..."

Hagrid stopped and I didn't blame him. Harry then asked, "Why don't you set him free?"

"They'd know I did it. And tha' would only get Dumbledore in trouble. Gonna come down, yeh know. Says he wants ter be with me when it... when it happens. Great man, Dumbledore."

How true were those words. After a bit of silence, Hermione stood up and stated, "We'll stay with you too, Hagrid."

"Yeh will not! Think I wan' yeh seein' a thing like this! No. Yeh'll drink yer tea an' be off. Before yeh do, Ron, I got a present for yeh."

We all watched as Hagrid opened a tin box and pulled out the mangy rat, Scabbers. "Scabbers! You're alive!" smiled Ron as he took the rat from Hagrid.

"Ye need to keep a closer eye on yer pets, Ron."

"Guess you owe someone an apology," I smiled.

Ron turned to Hermione and said, "Right. Next time I see Crookshanks, I'll let him know."

Hermione looked hurt, causing me to shout, "I meant Hermione, you daft, dimwitted, idiotic…"

"Alright, enough!" shouted Hagrid, causing us to turn and stare at him. "Before ye leave, I want you and Ron to hug, Elliot."

"WHAT?!" asked both me and Ron.

"You two 'ave been at each other's throats all year. Now, give each other a hug."

We turned and looked at each other with a look of disgust. Slowly, we stepped forward and gave each other the most awkward hug Hogwarts has ever seen. As we broke apart, Hagrid muttered, "Crikey, tha's jus' abou' the most pathetic hug I e'er seen. But yeh did it, an' tha's wha' matters. There's jus' one other thing..."

"I'm not kissing Fang if that's what you're thinking..." shouted Ron.

"No, this is directed at Amanda. Ye need to give Fred a break…" But Hagrid was cut off when a glass jar on the shelf shattered. We all stared out the window as Hermione picked up a stone. Just then, another rock came flying in, hitting Harry on the back of the head. Harry turned, rubbing his head, but stopped and muttered, "Hagrid..."

We all looked outside and saw Dumbledore, Fudge and Macnair approaching the hut. Hagrid's face flushed as he ordered, "Yeh got to go! It's almost dark. Anyone sees yeh outside the castle it'll be trouble! Big trouble! 'Specially you two, Harry and Elliot…"

Suddenly, three loud knocks hit the door. Hagrid stiffened as we slowly went out the back. Before we left, we told Hagrid it was going to be alright, then slipped out the back. Before completely getting outside, we checked to see if the coast was clear, then slipped behind the pumpkins. As we waited for everyone to be clear of the open window, a snap resounded behind us. As we turned, I thought I saw a wisp of brown hair. "What is it?" asked Harry.

Before I could say anything, Hermione answered, "I just thought I saw...never mind."

Finally, the coast was clear and we raced up the hill. When we reached the stone circle, we watched in horror as Macnair brought down his axe in the area where Buckbeak was. However, the trees were blocking our view, but when the crows flew away, we knew Buckbeak was gone. When it was over, I turned into Ron and buried my face, holding back tears. However, it was broken when I saw Scabbers bit Ron's finger, causing Ron to drop him and run off. Ron looked at us and said, "He bit me! Scabbers! Come back!"

At that moment, Ron ran after Scabbers. "Ron! No!" shouted Hermione as we chased after him. We chased him for a while until we stopped and watched as Ron jumped on the ground and grabbed Scabbers in his hand. It was just then that I noticed what tree Ron had caught Scabbers under; the Whomping Willow. "Uh…guys…you do know what tree that is, right?" I mumbled.

Harry recognized it and muttered, "That's not good. Ron! Run!"

When Ron looked up at us, a look of fear spread across his face as he pointed and shouted, "Guys, run! It's the grim!"

We spun around and saw a black dog bare his teeth and run through us and at Ron. In a matter of seconds, the dog brought his fangs down into Ron's leg and dragged him towards the Whomping Willow. We chased after him and Harry dove, grabbing Ron around the arm. The dog was strong, pulling both Harry and Ron with him. As the dog went into a small tunnel at the base of the tree, he attempted to take Ron with him, but I grabbed onto Harry's foot, causing more weight for the dog to pull. The dog, however, was pulling hard on Ron. Ron looked at us and Harry said, "Hold on, Ron!"

I looked over Harry's shoulder and saw a look in Ron's eyes. Harry saw it too and sighed, "No, Ron..."

One by one, Ron released his fingers from Harry's grip. I knew he was getting ready to sacrifice himself. "Ron, if you let go, I'll…"

But I never got to finish my statement because Ron let go, allowing the dog to pull him in. Te sound of Ron's pleas for help echoed through the passage as a branch of the tree swung and sent us fling back onto the ground. It was then that I remembered why I hated that bloody tree. Staring at the tree, we heard Ron's pleas for help. There was only one way to save him. I looked at Harry, Hermione, Rachel and Amanda and we all nodded. Together, we ran at the tree, dodging the branches that it was sending at us. As a branch narrowly missed Hermione, it caught me in the stomach. I held onto it as it flew up in the air. I knew holding on to it was probably a bad idea, but better than falling onto the ground. The branch sent me through its other branches, scratching me as I went. I looked down and saw Amanda as she was sent down onto the ground and almost crushed by one of its hammering branches. Rachel was successfully dodging most of the branches. Harry was scrambling for his glasses and Hermione was in the same boat I was. The branch I was holding onto sent me flying towards Rachel and it gave me a thought. Before Rachel could react, I grabbed Rachel by the color of her shirt and held on until I saw the tunnel. "Ready?" I shouted at her.

Rachel nodded and I let go, sending her flying into the tunnel. Amanda managed to dodge the limbs and crawled in after her. Hermione saw what I was doing and grabbed Harry, following my example. Once she sent Harry in, I waited until I had a good shot at the tunnel and let go. I landed mere feet from it and before the tree could attack me, I scrambled in. As I rolled in on top of Harry, I saw Amanda kneeling next to Rachel, who was holding her ankle in pain. Before I could get up, Hermione fell on top of me, causing me to fall back into Harry. "Oh sorry."

Quickly, we scrambled off one another and I rushed to Rachel. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"I landed on my ankle wrong. I think I broke it."

Sighing, I hoisted Rachel's arms over my shoulders and Amanda did the same. Once we got Rachel onto her feet, Harry muttered, "Lumos," lighting the long, dark passage.

Harry led the way and Amanda and I struggled to help Rachel through with Hermione following. "Where do you suppose this goes?" asked Hermione.

"I have a hunch. I just hope I'm wrong..." muttered Harry

We made our way through the passageway, ducking roots that dangled overhead. Suddenly, the passage stopped and headed upwards. Harry climbed up first and then helped Rachel up. I followed, then Amanda and finally Hermione. Once we were in, we noticed the place was old and battered. Blood stained the floor towards the stair. Amanda then stated, "We're in the Shrieking Shack, aren't we?"

None of us answered as we followed the blood trail up the stairs. It was difficult helping Rachel up the stairs, even if Amanda was helping. It was slow going, but we finally reached the top. The blood then went off to the right into a room and we walked in. It was then that we saw Ron sitting on a bed, his leg bleeding profusely and clinging onto Scabbers. I sighed as Amanda and I helped Rachel onto the bed next to Ron. Hermione and Harry rushed in, Harry extinguishing his wand as Hermione smiled, "Ron! You're okay."

"Where's the dog?" I asked.

"It's a trap. He's the dog. He's an Animagus."

We all looked down at the paw prints that turned into human feet. We looked up slowly at the man standing in the shadows. His hair was filthy and matted down, hanging to his shoulders. His skin was white and pale and he looked like a corpse. His eyes were dark and cold. It was then that we recognized that we were now in the presence of none other than Sirius Black.

TBC…

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