"Broaden your minds. You must look beyond. The art of crystal gazing is in the clearing of the Inner Eye. Only then can you see. Try again. Now, what do we have here?" Professor Trelawny asks the four of us.
"Do you mind me trying?" Hermione asks. She examines the crystal ball. "The Grim, possibly."
"My dear, from the first moment you stepped foot in my class... I sensed that you did not possess the proper spirit... for the noble art of Divination. No, you see, there. You may be young in years, but your heart is as shriveled... as an old maid's, your soul as dry as the pages of the books... to which you so desperately cleave." Hermione gets up, and storms out of the classroom. The crystal ball falls off the table and rolls out of the room. "Have I said something?"
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"She's gone mental, Hermione has." Ron says as we make our way out of the class. "Not that she wasn't always mental... but now it's in the open for everyone to see."
"Oh, shut it, Ron. You just blame her for Scabbers."
"Why do you always take her side?" He asks me.
"Because she's my best friend!"
"Well I'm your friend too!"
"Hang on." Harry interrupts us, bending down to pick up the crystal ball that Hermione had dropped. "We better take this back."
"I'm not going back." Ron says.
"Fine. See you later."
"See you." I say, still slightly angered.
We walk back up to the classroom and try to find Professor Trelawny. When we can't seem to find her, Harry places the ball on its stand and we begin to walk out. Then we feel a hand on our shoulders.
"Harry Potter... Amelia Potter..."
"Professor Trelawney..." we mutter, seeing that something is wrong.
"He will return tonight."
"Sorry?" I question.
"Tonight, he who betrayed his friends, whose heart rots with murder... shall break free. Innocent blood shall be spilt... and servant and master shall be reunited once more." She coughs and looks to Harry. "I'm so sorry, dear boy." Then she looks to me. "Dear girl, Did you say something?"
"No. Nothing." I say and we turn back and leave the classroom.
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"I can't believe they're going to kill Buckbeak. It's just too horrible." Hermione says as we make our way down to Harris's Hut.
"It just got worse." I mutter, turning around and seeing Malfoy and his goons.
"What did I say? Father said... I can keep the hippogriff's head. I'll donate it to the Gryffindors' room. This is going to be rich. Look who's here." He sees us. "Come to see the show?"
"You!" Hermione says. "You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!" She points her wand at him and he backs up into a stone wall.
"Hermione, no! He's not worth it." Ron says. She lowers her wand and turns away. Malfoy smirks.
I run up to him and right hook him across the face.
"Malfoy, are you okay?" Goyle asks.
"Let's go. Quick." He says, walking off back to the castle. "Not a word to anyone, understood?"
"That felt good." I smirk.
"Not good, brilliant!" Ron says.
We all run down to Hagrids Hut so that we can be with him when it happens. He needs friends, and besides some of the staff, we're all he's got.
"Look at him." Hagrid says looking out to Buckbeak through the window. "Loves the smell of the trees when the wind blows through them."
"Why don't we just set him free?" Hermione asks.
"They'd know it was him, and then Dumbledore... would get into trouble." I tell her.
"He's coming down, Dumbledore. Says he wants to be with me when they... When it happens." Hagrid says sadly. "Great man, Dumbledore. A great man."
"We'll stay with you too." Harry says.
"You'll do no such thing! Think I want you seeing something like that? No. You just drink your tea and be off. Oh. Before you do, Ron..." Hagrid pulls Scabbers out of a pot.
"Scabbers! You're alive!"
"Keep a closer eye on your pet."
"I think you owe someone an apology." I tell him.
"Right. Next time I see Crookshanks, I'll let him know." Ron says to Hermione.
"She meant me!" Hermione screams and then a rock flies through the window and smashes a pot full of sand.
"Blimey! What was that?" Ron asks.
"Ow!" Harry says as he throws his arm to the back of his head. I look out the window and see the minister, Dumbledore, Mr. Malfoy, and an Executioner making their way towards the hut.
"Hagrid!" I yell.
"Oh, crikey." He shows us out the back way and we hide behind the pile of pumpkins in his garden.
"Well, I think we should get down to our business, shall we?" Dumbledore states as they all greet each other.
"Very well. It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal... of Dangerous Creatures that the hippogriff Buckbeak... hereinafter called 'the condemned,' shall be executed this day at sundown."
"'The condemned'! He says it like he's a monster. Malfoy is the real monster." I mutter then my eyes wander to Lucius. "Both of them."
Then I hear a rustling of leaves behind us in the trees. I turn and furrow my eyebrows. Seeing someone rather familiar.
"What?" Ron asks me.
"I thought I just saw... Never mind." I say.
"Let's go!" Hermione says and we take off back up the hill, away from Hagrids hut.
The executioner raises his axe above his head and brings it down quickly. Crows screech and fly off. Hermione nuzzles herself against Ron, lightly sobbing into his chest.
"Oh, no."
"He bit me! Scabbers!" Ron exclaims, dropping his pet. The rat scurried off and Ron follows him.
"Ron. Ron! Ron!" Harry, Hermione and I call after him.
"Scabbers, come back!"
"Wait!" I say, stopping Harry and Hermione from going any further.
"Scabbers, you bit me!" Ron says, sitting on the ground, holding his pet rat.
"Harry, you do realize what tree this is?" I ask him. He looks up at the Whimping Willow.
"That's not good. Ron, run!" He yells.
"Harry, Mia, Hermione, run!" Ron shouts back, pointing behind us. "It's the Grim!"
We turn around and see the same big, black dog from the summer. The night Harry and I ran away. It darts toward us, but at the last minute turns, and goes for Ron. It bites his leg and starts dragging him in to an opening at the bottom of the tree.
"Harry! Mia!" Ron yells.
"Ron! Ron, wait!" My brother cries.
"Harry! Mia! Help!" He tries to grab onto the ground, but is unsuccessful.
"Ron! Ron! Ron! Ron!" We call after him. Then Hermione pushes us to the ground.
"Move!"
We look up and the the tree swinging it's branches towards us. We roll out of the way before it can crush us. We stand back up and jump over its branches like a jump rope.
"Duck!" I yell and we jump to the ground except for Hermione. She is picked up by the tree and flung around on a branch.
"Mia!" She calls after me and grabs me by the collar on my shirt. I fly into the air and she throws me down into the tree. I land hard on the ground, hard. A few moments later Harry lands on top of me. And then seconds later, Hermione lands on top of him.
"Oh, I'm sorry." They both mutter to me.
"Don't worry." I say. We get up and brush ourselves off.
"Where do you suppose this goes?" Hermione asks us.
"I have a hunch." Harry says to us.
"I hope you're wrong." I say to him.