Butterfly Effect ; H. Potter

14. the shrieking shack.

But the force of its leap had carried it too far.; it rolled off him; dazed, feeling as though his ribs were broken, Harry tried to stand up; he could hear it growling as it skidded around for a new attack.

Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back towards them, he pushed Harry aside; the dog's jaws fastened instead around Ron's outstretched arm. Harry lunged at it and seized a handful of the brute's hair, but it was dragging Ron away as easily as if he were a rag-doll -

Then, out of nowhere, something hit Harry so hard across the face he was knocked off his feet again. He heard Hermione shriek with pain and fall, too, and then another thud that indicated that Antheia had fallen as well. Harry groped for his wand, blinking blood out of his eyes -

"Lumos!" he whispered.

The wand-light showed him the trunk of a thick tree; they had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backwards and forwards to stop them going nearer.

And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backwards into a large gap in the roots - Ron was fighting furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight -

"Ron!" Harry shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and he was forced backwards again.

All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog pulling him further underground. Then a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and next second, his foot had vanished from sight.

"We've got to go for help -" Hermione cried; she was bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

"We don't have time!" Antheia yelled. "By the time we get back, that dog could have eaten Ron -"

"We're never going to get through without help -"

Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, we can," Harry panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but he couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree-roots without being in range of the tree's blows.

"Oh, help, help," Hermione whispered frantically, dancing uncertainly on the spot, "please ..."

Crookshanks darted forwards. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk.

Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to marble, it stopped moving. Not a leaf twitch or shook.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. "How did he know -?"

"He's friends with that dog," said Harry grimly.

"I saw them walking together on the grounds," Antheia continued. "Come on, let's go."

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottle-brush tail. Harry went next; he crawled forwards, head first, and slid down an earthly slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Antheia crawled in, quickly followed by Hermione.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way," said Harry, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.

"Where does this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked breathlessly.

"I don't know ... it's marked on the Marauders Map but Fred and George said no one's ever got into it. It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it ends up in Hogsmeade ..."