Edward bumped into nothing when he came out of the tower.
"What the-" Edward groaned, rubbing his forehead. He had caught a glimpse of the red and gold robes of Gryffindor before they vanished into thin air. Well, not that thin, considering the bump on Edward's head.
Edward sat on the ground, still dumbfounded until he heard three pairs of uneven footsteps shuffling away. Odd.
Shrugging, Edward went outside. The Slytherins were having a party in the courtyard celebrating the end of the exams. Being the last person to take the Divination exam, by the time Edward arrived, the party was almost over and they were beginning to clean up.
"Hey, Ed!" Amy shouted, waving him over. Malfoy was looking very smugly at Hagrid's cottage. Edward's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"How was it?" she asked when Edward joined them.
"I probably failed," Edward said, noticing that Malfoy was looking eagerly at the cottage. Was the execution starting already?
Amy was saying something but Edward tuned out her chattering. When Malfoy started to tap his foot on the picnic mat impatiently, Edward turned to Amy with an apologetic smile.
"Listen, I have to see Hagrid after my exams. He got me a potion to stop my monster book from trying to bite off my head."
"I'll come too. I want to see the look on his sniffling face!" Malfoy cackled. Crabbe and Goyle stood up beside him dutifully.
Amy glared at Malfoy reproachfully but it was only half-hearted. She took a large bite off her cake and waved her classmates away.
Malfoy was planning something, Edward was sure of it.
"Come on!" Malfoy hissed impatiently and Edward quickened his pace to join him.
As they neared the cottage, Edward thought he saw another swish of Gryffindor robes before they disappeared again.
"Quick! Follow me!" Edward commanded softly and ducked to the side of the cottage away from the main door. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle ran after him without complaint.
A minute later, Edward heard a knock on the door. He peeked around the side of the house to see that no one was there.
"Who is it?" Malfoy whispered, sounding a little petrified.
"Shh!" Edward hissed, staring at the door intently.
The door opened and Hagrid was whispering something into the air. Then, he stepped aside and closed the door behind him.
The window of Hagrid's cottage was open so Edward could get a good listen to what was going on inside the room.
"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Granger voice came slow and hesitantly, as if afraid to bring the giant man over the edge.
"I- I took him outside," said Hagrid. There was a crash as something porcelain dropped onto the ground. "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an'- an' smell fresh air –before-"
Crap. The Slytherins turned around slowly and suddenly saw themselves eye-to-eye with a hostile-looking chimera.
Malfoy whimpered and clutched his arm where the chimera had scored him. Goyle flopped onto the ground, stunned.
"He's tried," said Hagrid. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee."
The chimera flapped its wings vigorously and both Crabbe and Goyle cowered under it simultaneously. Maintain eye contact, Edward told himself, remembering the first lesson.
"He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared... Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like... threatened 'em, I expect... an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's... but it'll be quick an' clean... an' I'll be beside him... "
Malfoy averted his gaze and ducked behind Edward. Without making any sudden movements, Edward slowly stood up, all the while not blinking.
"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it – while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter - ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore..."
Edward bowed slowly, not breaking eye contact. A moment later, the chimera bowed back. Edward closed his eyes in relief. Tension eased out from his body when he realised the danger was gone.
The back door opened.
"Hagrid, we can't-"
"We'll tell them what really happened-"
"They can't kill him-"
"Go!" said Hagrid fiercely. "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"
The chimera glanced at them and back at the Slytherins. It had bent its head, still waiting for Edward to mount it but there was no way Edward was going to ride that thing.
"We've got to move before they find us!" Edward snarled but Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were cowering violently still.
"MOVE!" Edward said and they scrambled to their feet. The chimera was watching them intently and Edward felt apprehensive. He clenched and unclenched his automail hand, ready to fight if needed.
The Slytherins stumbled into the Forbidden Forest and joined the party back in the courtyard.
"Got any chocolate? The kind that will soothe nerves," Edward asked Amy.
Before she could reply, Edward jerked his head at the three shivering figures behind him. Amy's mouth tightened into a thin line and she nodded curtly.
There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable
swish and thud of an axe.
Malfoy managed a small smile even though he was still quaking.
"Chocolate, then bed," Amy ordered, ignoring the outraged look on Malfoy's face. Edward suppressed a smile. They were in good hands. Which made Edward's hands free enough to investigate the swish of robes earlier.
Edward glanced around the area and spotted three Gryffindors standing on top of the hill. There was some sort of struggle there. One of them was wrestling with something small in his hands and was shouting loudly.
Edward sprinted up to them and recognised Harry, Weasley and Granger.
"He won't- stay- put-" Weasley was yelling at his friends.
There was a gray mouse in his hand and it was plainly terrified. It was writhing with all its might, trying to break free of Weasley's grip.
"What's the matter with it?" Edward called.
"Ron's rat gone wild!" Harry shouted. "Give us a hand!"
Then, Edward saw it. It was slinking toward them, its body low to the ground, wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness. It was also the ugliest cat Edward had ever seen in his life, though Al would probably call it the most adorable thing in the world.
"Crookshanks!" Granger shouted, trying to grab hold of the rat which was slipping out of Weasley's hand. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"
But the cat was getting nearer.
"Scabbers- NO!"
Too late. The rat had slipped between Weasley's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. In one bound, the cat sprang after him. Weasley took off after the cat.
Harry, Edward and Granger exchanged looks before they dashed after Weasley as well.
"Get away from him- get away- Scabbers, come here!"
There was a loud thud.
"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat!"
Edward almost fell over Weasley. He skidded to a stop right in front of him. Granger and Harry joined him a heartbeat later. Weasley was sprawled on the ground, but the rat was back in his pocket. The Gryffindor had both hands held tight over the quivering lump and his hair was covered in mud.
"You got it!" Edward sighed with relief. The fat cat glared at Edward challengingly and Edward glared back.
"LOOK OUT!" Harry screamed. They heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws. Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow- an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.
"It's the chimera!" Edward growled.
"What's that?" Harry said, reaching for his wand. Too late. The chimera had made an enormous leap and the front paws hit Harry on the chest. It bared his teeth at Harry and Edward saw long, canines jutting out of its mouth.
"Get off him!" Edward snarled. He clapped his hands and slapped them to the ground. The earth beneath him shifted and a giant fist plucked the chimera from Harry's body.
It hardly hindered the beast. The chimera wriggled free easily and leapt down and dived straight into Edward. Edward moved to clap his hands together again but the chimera latched its jaw into Edward's flesh arm before he could do so.
Harry lunged forward and seized a handful of the chimera's hair, but it was dragging Edward away as easily as though he were a rag doll.
Edward gasped as the chimera's teeth sank into his flesh and he groaned in pain. He felt his body being dragged forward towards a tree and suddenly, the tree branches started whipping about everywhere.
Making use of the confusion, Edward swung his automail arm at the chimera's muzzle and the chimera let go of him instantly.
Instead, it lunged at Weasley and began dragging him into a large gap in the tree roots.