The high of winning the match lasted for all of a week. No matter what the Slytherins did or said, the entire school was convinced that they'd been well and truly flattened in that last match. Commentary and match analysis followed us around and all through our lessons and exams throughout the next week, and for once, I didn't get bored of hearing it all.
"That match must be the best Quidditch match I've ever seen," Ron was smiling the next Friday afternoon as we rested on the banks of the Black Lake. Having spent the whole week finishing our exams, most of the students were out in the grounds, but for once, the others were leaving us alone. Ron had Quidditch Through The Ages propped open in front of him as he spoke, and Harry had his back propped up against a tree, I was lay on my back with my eyes closed against the sun and Hermione was pouring over her answers to her last test.
"It's no wonder you won," Hermione told us without looking up. "Everyone knows that the Gryffindor team is the best side at Hogwarts."
"You'll be making us blush soon," I scoffed, nudging Harry with the tip of my toes.
"Don't know about that," he answered. "I'm kind of getting used to it." Ron and I laughed at him as Hermione sighed heavily, mumbling under her breath about being too confident, but when something fluttered in front of my face, I swatted out at it irritably, keeping my eyes shut.
"Potter, if you can't keep that thing out of my face, I'll take its wings off," I grumbled sourly.
"Touchy," Harry chuckled, reaching out and taking the Snitch from our last match from the air above my face. I carefully opened one eye, lifting a hand over my eyes to shield them from the sun. Winking at me, he settled back against the tree, turning the Snitch over in his hands and watching it's wings flutter helplessly.
"Do you think I messed up in Lupin's exam this morning?" Hermione suddenly blurted, glancing at the three of us with a worried look.
"Hermione, you could have refused to do the test and Lupin would still give you the best marks in the class," I yawned widely. "He knows you're the brightest witch in our year."
"Other than you," she mumbled quietly.
"That's not intelligence," I corrected quickly in a stern voice, leaning up just enough to scowl at her. She blinked at me in surprise.
"Hey guys," Ron suddenly interrupted. "Is that who I think it is?"
Shaking Hermione's comment off, I turned to follow his line of sight, scowling at the gates to the grounds. Two figures were striding up the path leading to the castle. One of them, I recognised as the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. The second was a tall, elderly man dressed entirely in black and carrying a large axe.
"Buckbeak," Hermione breathed with watery eyes. "Oh my, his execution is today! I forgot, I can't believe I forgot!"
"Come on," Harry frowned, snatching the Snitch back out of the air and stuffing it in his pocket. "We should get to the feast, and I'd better not run into Malfoy on the way there."
I sighed heavily, pushing myself upright and helping Hermione to her feet. "I should have taken his head off in that last match. Life would be so much quieter."
Ignoring my comment, Hermione led the way hurriedly back up to the castle, her eyes flicking back toward Hagrid's cabin every now and then. I felt my heart clench slightly at the sight of Buckbeak still chained outside, and my jaw clenched, shaking myself and hurrying up the stairs into the castle.
The feast, predictably, was remarkably quiet after that. I could almost feel Dumbledore and Lupin staring at the four of us all night, like they were waiting for the inevitable. Admittedly, they were right to be cautious. In less than an hour, we'd be sat in Hagrid's hut trying to console him while a perfectly innocent creature was killed because Malfoy was an idiot.
"You have got the Cloak, right?" Hermione murmured at Harry nervously.
He scoffed at her with a roll of his eyes. "You act like this is the first time we have ever snuck around," he replied under his breath. "Oh, come on, Hermione, this is simple compared to the other stuff we have done. We leave a little early, hide, go under the Cloak and go down to Hagrid. How hard is that?"
"How hard was it to remember the Cloak after sneaking an illegal dragon out of the school in first year?" she retorted sourly. Harry hesitated.
"She's got a point," Ron grimaced.
"The point, Ron, is that we aren't really breaking any rules . . . or laws," I added hurriedly. "We're just going down to see our friend in his hour of need. What's wrong with that?"
Hermione shifted. "What about Black? He's still out there somewhere and we're sneaking around in the dark! How much worse could it be?" I frowned, scowling and stabbing my food a little too hard.
"It could be Voldemort," Harry answered calmly, and both Hermione and Ron choked on their food.
"Would you please quit saying his name?" Ron pleaded weakly.
"No."
"He's such a brave little soul," I sighed sarcastically, moving out of the way as he aimed a kick in my direction.
"We'll be fine," Harry insisted. "We have the Cloak. So long as we remember we've got it, it's not like he'll be able to see us." Neither Ron nor Hermione looked convinced, but I nodded once and drained the rest of my goblet. Honestly, I couldn't care less if Black found me or not. The mood I was in, he'd be lucky if it was possible for him to walk away.
"Come on then," I mumbled. "Better get this over with." Pushing myself to my feet, I followed the others out of the Great Hall and into one of the small chambers off the Hall.
"How are we going to know for sure everyone has left?" Hermione muttered quietly, straining to hear people's footsteps through the door.
"Hey Harry, have you still got that map?" Ron asked eagerly, but Harry pulled a face and shook his head.
"Lupin confiscated it months ago," he mumbled. "Honestly, the lecture he gave me about it, I was surprised he didn't give me detentions for the rest of the year!"
I felt one of my eyebrows lift dangerously. "I beg your pardon? And why didn't I know about this?"
"Don't look at me like that," he scowled. "You're finally getting on with him, and he let it drop quickly enough. Besides, he's still teaching me to produce a Patronus, and it was either I got caught by him, or Snape."
"Fair enough," Ron snorted with a small shrug. I frowned, but said nothing.
Outside, footsteps hurried through the Entrance Hall and it took almost ten minutes for them to clear away quickly. The moment it was all clear, Harry took his Invisibility Cloak out and the four of us huddled underneath it. "Is it me or is this thing getting smaller?" Ron complained.
"You," I sighed. "Or us. We aren't exactly the same height as we were in first year."
Still, it was incredibly annoying having to walk so slowly and so close together. It took us ages to finally get down to Hagrid's cabin, and when we did, my stomach clenched tightly. Buckbeak was chained up to a post outside in the pumpkin patch, lifting his head curiously as though he knew we were there but couldn't quite see us. Shuffling awkwardly to the front door, Harry lifted a fist and hammered on it, careful not to let the Cloak slip.
Instantly, Fang was barking on the other side of the door, and a shuffling noise came closer toward us as Hagrid tried to open the door. He scowled when he couldn't see anyone, staring out into the night behind us.
"Hagrid, it's us," Harry said. "Let us in so we can take the Cloak off."
Hagrid glanced down to our height, frowning slightly. "You shouldn't have come," he replied gruffly, but he moved out of the doorway anyway and allowed the four of us to enter the cabin. Ron closed the door behind us as Harry yanked the Cloak off the top of our heads.
Running my hands through my hair, I moved for the window and peered out at Buckbeak with narrowed eyes. He was pawing the ground nervously, meeting my gaze through the window with such a pitiful look, I almost rushed out and released him then and there. "There has to be something we can do," I said desperately, spinning on my heel to face the others.
Hagrid sniffed, shaking his head as fresh, loud tears rolled down his cheeks. Hermione mumbled something about tea and hurried around the cabin. "There's nothing any of you can do," Hagrid blubbered. "I wouldn't want to get you into any more trouble."
"Oh, yes because trouble is a foreign concept to us," I frowned sarcastically.
"Arty, if we set Buckbeak free, then they're going to think Hagrid did it," Hermione sighed from the kitchen. "And there's no way we can leave them to see him, and then take him. It's impossible!"
I grunted sourly. "Should have asked me three years from now."
"What was that?" Hagrid asked distractedly, and Harry elbowed me sharply in the side.
"Ow!" I winced with a frown. "Nothing, Hagrid. Never mind."
Harry shook his head at me exasperatedly, taking a deep breath. "We'll stay with you," he insisted. "You can't go through this alone."
Hagrid shook his head furiously, frowning at the four of us when we all nodded in response. "No, you can't," he dismissed. "If Dumbledore found you down here-"
"We don't care," the four of us said in unison. Hagrid shook his head again, just as Hermione let out a small squeal. Instantly, Harry, Ron and I leapt to our feet in surprise, my hand reaching back for my wand automatically. But she just stood in the kitchen with one hand clamped over her mouth and the other trying to dip into one of the steaming mugs of tea without burning herself.
"What is it?" Ron asked cautiously. Hermione just squeaked behind her hand, her eyes wide as she pointed at the mug.
Rolling my eyes, I stepped forward and took my wand from my pocket. "Evanesco!" The boiling water vanished in the blink of an eye, and I dipped my hand into the mug, clutching something soft and soggy.
"Uh!" I moaned in disgust as I pulled it out of the mug and dropped it onto the table. It was a rat, soaking wet in hot water and shaking in fright.
Ron gasped as he caught sight of it. "Scabbers!" Rushing forward, he scooped the rat into his hands before it could escape again.
Harry let out a low whistle. "How did he survive? Hasn't he been missing for months?"
"Don't know exactly," Ron shrugged. "We were all too busy with you two, remember?" Exchanging an awkward look, Harry and I murmured our agreement quietly. Trying to distract myself, I turned to look out of the window.
"Erm, guys?" I gulped, my face falling. "If we aren't staying, then we need to go. Like, now. Dumbledore and the Minister are here."
Harry, Ron and Hermione immediately rushed to follow my gaze, but Hagrid hurriedly snatched Harry's Cloak off the chair by the fire and thrust it into his arms. "You can go out the back," he mumbled, herding us toward the back door. "Keep out of sight and don't stop on the way to the castle, you hear?"
Harry started to wrap the Cloak around the four of us, but Hermione shuffled slightly. "Hagrid-"
"No, just go, before you get caught," he insisted with teary eyes.
"But Hagrid-" I started.
"Go!" he demanded, herding us out of the door. Harry threw the Cloak over the us again and wrapped a hand around my wrist, hauling me in movement. Scowling, I followed him, Ron and Hermione closely as we past Buckbeak cautiously, watching Dumbledore, the Minister and the executioner move down the path and toward Hagrid's cabin.
"I can't believe this is happening," I snapped through gritted teeth. "Letting Malfoy get away with this . . . I can't bear it!"
"Can we please just move?" Hermione whimpered. "I don't want to watch this, it's awful!"
Harry nodded with a frown. "Come on." Slowly and carefully, we moved past the pumpkin patch, making sure to keep well away from Dumbledore as he and the others passed by. From somewhere behind us, Hagrid's front door opened.
"Hello, Hagrid," Dumbledore greeted sadly. "I trust you are well?"
"As well as I can be, Professor," Hagrid muttered back.
"Understandable," Dumbledore replied. "May we come in?" The group moved into the cabin, and Harry, Ron, Hermione and I crept back up toward the castle.
"Oh, this really isn't good," Hermione whimpered. "This really isn't good."
"We know, Hermione," Harry muttered, as good as pulling her along.
"Ouch!" Ron suddenly moaned under his breath.
"What now?" I groaned.
"It's Scabbers!" he mumbled irritably. "He won't stay still!"
"Then shove him in your pocket!" I suggested shortly.
"He won't get in!" he complained.
"Then kill the thing, and shut it up!" I snapped.
"Oh no," Hermione moaned, pointing a shaky finger through the Cloak across the grass. "Go away Crookshanks!" Harry and I groaned loudly as the cat stalked toward us, as though he could see straight through the Cloak and was ready to pounce. Irritated and already on edge, I snatched my wand out of my pocket but Hermione squeaked and clamped a hand around my wrist pleading.
"Calm down, Arty, it's just a cat and a rat," Harry mumbled. But he'd spoken too soon because seconds later, Ron yelped loudly and dropped the rat to the ground. Hissing loudly, Crookshanks suddenly darted to the right, bounding off into the darkness.
"SCABBERS!" Ron yelled.
"No, Ron, wait!" I shouted as he threw the Cloak off and ran for the rat. Groaning loudly, Harry snatched the Cloak off us again and started after him. "I swear to God, if we get killed for a rat," I snapped but Hermione just squeaked and raced after the two of them. Rolling my eyes, I broke into a run, tearing through the darkness with a horrible squirming in my stomach.
It was almost pitch black and we could hardly see a thing. Instead, we had to follow the sound of Ron's shouts and the unbelievably loud squeaking of his ridiculous rat. Around us, the night was growing cold and the brittle wind ripped at the skin around my face and under the thin fabric of my hoodie.
Another squeak sounded from Hermione and she skidded to a halt ahead of me, only just managing to stop before she tripped over Ron. Harry hauled her back gently, gasping for breath. Moving to stand beside them, I scowled down at Ron.
"Weasley, if you don't get back under this Cloak," I started, but my voice trailed off as his face went white enough to glow in the dark, his eyes wide and unable to meet my gaze. For one horrifying second, I was worried that there was something else wrong with me, and that my arm had started bleeding again. But he lifted a shaking hand, pointing to something over my shoulder. My face straightening, I glanced sideways at Harry and the two of us spun around, hands reaching for our wands.
A huge, jet black dog was stood in the distance, it's teeth bared and its eyes fixed on Ron between Harry and me. Its body shook as it spread its stance, ready to pounce. In that instant, Harry raised his wand, but the dog barked angrily, bounding forward and leaping at Harry. I barely had time to react, but a second later, my wand was out and aimed at the dog as it and Harry thumped to the ground. Harry winced as his head bounced off the ground painfully, but the dog spun and stared at me.
"Artemis!"
The next thing I saw was Hermione's mass of hair as she dragged me to the ground, just in time to avoid something very thick and heavy colliding with my head. I frowned and blinked in confusion for a moment, heart hammering as Hermione clambered back to her feet and pulled me upright.
Harry was still on the floor a few feet away, rubbing his chest with a scowl on his face. In front of me, Hermione was staring open-mouthed in horror at the Whomping Willow, a large, violent tree that attacked anyone who went anywhere near it. But just as I'd registered that, a howl of pain echoed in the night air. I was in an instant panic, something so common to me I hardly noticed. Still, scrambling out of the tree's reach, I lifted my wand and muttered, "Lumos!"
A bright ray of light lit up the scene in front of me, and my stomach twisted when my eyes fell on Ron and the giant dog. It had sunk its teeth deep into his arm, dragging him like a rag doll toward the base of the tree. Ron's eyes met mine for a second, and I felt my chest tighten helplessly. I couldn't aim at the dog without fear of catching Ron, but what really bugged me was that somehow, the dog seemed to realise this, keeping its body close to Ron's while its hollow, black eyes were fixed on me.
"Arty, do something!" Hermione pleaded, clutching my arm tightly.
"I can't get an aim," I muttered at her, scowling at the dog as it and Ron disappeared through the bottom of the tree. For a moment, Ron's leg caught on one of the tree's branches, but an agonised yelp split the night air and he disappeared from view.
"We need a way in," Harry said breathlessly as he stumbled to a halt at my side. "Fast."
"But how?" I questioned.
"If I knew that, we wouldn't be standing here like this!" Hermione complained weakly, shifting her weight from foot to foot nervously. "Maybe we should head back up to the castle. If Lupin knew the two of you were out here-"
"And how long will it take to go and get him?" I scowled. "We don't have time!"
"Well we need to do something! We can't just-"
"Hey, guys," Harry interrupted urgently. "Look." Hermione and I turned and my jaw dropped in shock as we watched Crookshanks sneak forward, darting this way and that to avoid the branches of the Whomping Willow. Within a couple of seconds, Crookshanks had reached the tree and lifted a paw to push a large knot on the front. Instantly, the Whomping Willow went rigid, and the three of us stared in surprise.
"Did you know it did that?" I mumbled quietly.
"Not a clue," Harry admittedly with a stunned shake of his head.
"How did Crookshanks?" Hermione gawped.
Harry shook himself hurriedly and set his expression. "No time for that. Come on." Neither of us argued, rushing after him and climbing through the gaping hole at the base of the tree. There was a small drop on the other side, and after jumping to the ground in a dingy, dark passage, I lifted my wand ahead of me and stared down the corridor with an impending sense of doom.
"This doesn't look good," Hermione mumbled, voicing my own concerns.
"No choice," Harry dismissed, pushing ahead with his own wand lit. Frowning slightly, I indicated for Hermione to go next and she nodded slowly, hurrying to catch up with Harry and stay as close as humanly possible to the two of us. I understood her reluctance. The passage smelt so bad, I was actually on the verge of gagging. Despite the fact all three of us had our wands lit, none of us could see very much. We walked for what seemed like ages, and the further we went, the narrower the passage got.
Eventually though, Harry came to a very abrupt halt in front of us and Hermione began muttering anxiously under her breath. Taking a steadying breath, I straightened out and doubled my grip on my wand. Ahead of us, a faint light flooded the end of the passage from the left, and for some reason, the sight made me shudder. Slowly, the three of us made our way toward it and pulled ourselves through a small hole in the side of the passage way.
The room we came out in was old and tatty, lit in a dingy light. Wallpaper was peeling from the walls were it had been torn off by something very large with very sharp claws, and the furniture had been nearly demolished, large chunks missing from the sofa and whole table legs torn off and thrown across the room. The windows were boarded up with old, moulding pieces of wood, and as far as I could see, there wasn't a single door leading to the outside world. To top it off, everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the only sign of disturbance was a long, wide strip across the floor that curved through the room and ran up the stairs to the side. In the middle, a dark red line smeared across the now dust-free floor.
"Oh my," Hermione whimpered, clutching my arm again. "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack!"
"Comforting," I muttered, twirling my wand through my fingers nervously and taking a step forward with Hermione still attached to my arm. "Looks like they went upstairs."
Harry frowned, scanning the room. "Isn't this place supposed to be haunted?" he mumbled, and I couldn't help snorting at him half-heartedly.
"Scared of ghosts?"
"Ghosts didn't do this," he said slowly staring around the room, and Hermione whimpered again, her hands clenching my arm so tightly I gasped in surprise. Shooting her a pointed look, she let go and murmured an apology, gripping her wand tighter.
"Come on," I started, moving through the clean stretch on the floor. Harry and Hermione followed closely behind as we took to the stairs, flinching every time the wood creaked beneath our feet. When we reached the top, Harry's hand clenched around my wrist tightly and I started in surprise, glancing back at him.
"What?" I asked quietly. He didn't say anything, frowning for a moment, and I sighed heavily. "I can take care of myself you know." Slowly, he nodded, but he didn't let go of my wrist. And though I scowled at him, silently, I felt a lot better knowing he hadn't. At least I knew he was still there.
The three of us came to a halt outside a door that stood slightly ajar. Craning my head toward it, I could hear Ron muttering under his breath in fear, but nothing else. No whining dog or claws scratching the floorboards. The thought that whatever had done this to him had gotten away didn't make me feel any better, but I carefully kicked the door open a fraction and peered inside. Before I could see more than a large bedstead and Ron crumbled against the side of it, Harry and Hermione rushed inside, Harry's hand slipping from my wrist. I opened my mouth to snap at him, but snapped it shut and hurried after them, my hand tightening around my wand.
"Oh, Ron, look at the state of you!" Hermione breathed sadly.
"What happened?" Harry demanded. "Where's the dog?"
"Not . . . not a dog," Ron managed to stammer, and I felt my body go rigid. "It's . . . it's a trap. Harry . . . it's him . . . he's an Animagus . . ."
"What?" Harry frowned, but the door behind us suddenly slammed shut loudly and I whipped around as Harry and Hermione leapt to their feet beside me.
"You," I found myself breathing sourly as my eyes fell on Sirius Black for the second time this year. He looked almost exactly the same as he had done before Christmas, with hollow dark eyes, matted black hair falling to his shoulders. His robes hung from his frame ten sizes too big and as he smirked at us, he revealed a mouthful of yellowing teeth.
"Déjà vu," he smirked, eyes flicking from me to Harry then back again.