Magic? || Years 1-5

Exams: Year 3

Amisty immediately set to comforting her, biting back her laughter of the obscurity of the boggart. Once Hermione had calmed down, they headed back up to the castle. What they saw wasn't what they had expected.

Cornelius Fudge was standing and staring out at the grounds, jumping once he spotted them.

"Hello there, Harry! Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?" He asked brightly.

"Yes," Harry nodded. Amisty, Hermione, and Ron traded uncomfortable glances and stepped back.

"Lovely day. Pity... pity..." He sighed sadly, looking over the lake. "I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."

"Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" Ron asked suddenly, taking a step forward.

"No, no, its scheduled for this afternoon," Fudge replied, looking at Ron in confusion.

"Then you might not have to witness an execution at all! The hippogriff might get off!" Ron argued.

Before Fudge could reply, two wizards stepped out of the castle. One was very old, his eyes dark and hair silvery, and the other was very tall and prim with a neat black mustache.

Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this... Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?" The older wizard asked, his voice quavering slightly.

'Ah, so they're the representatives of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures," Amisty thought to herself.

She scowled slightly, as the dark haired man was running his fingers down the edge of a sharp axe. Ron was about to open his mouth again when Hermione jabbed him with her elbow and dragged them all off to the Great Hall.

"Why'd you stop me? Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't justice!" Ron spat.

"Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like that to his boss!" Hermione argued. "As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues his case properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak..."

Amisty couldn't focus at all during lunch, as there was a very persistent nipping at her ankles.

"I'll be right back," She muttered to Harry, who was beside her and marched out of the Great Hall after aiming a swift kick at the stupid little dragon figurine whose life goal was to maim her leg.

With a fierce glare at the Slytherin table, she turned the corner and leaned against the wall, waiting. When Malfoy rounded the corner almost immediately he grabbed her wrists before she even made the move to attack him.

"You, you... you -- " She stumbled over her words, too furious to complete a sentence with everything she wanted to say swirling around in her mind.

She wanted to shout at him. To yell and punch and just understand why he acted that way.

But she also wanted this entire thing to be over with.

"I what, Amisty, I what?" He hissed lowly, glaring at her so coldly she barely stopped herself from flinching.

"L-let's start from the beginning, then, shall we?" She forced out, focusing her mind on the past events, her voice slowly growing in strength as she went on. "First, your father get's an innocent creature killed and you're gloating about it.

"Second, speaking of Buckbeak, you sit there and laugh at Hagrid when he's clearly distraught over something that wouldn't have ever happened if it wasn't for your stupidity.