The light grew closer and closer and the smell grew more intense until you could see an abandoned dirty house in the opening. Sirius climbed out of the hole and you followed. You looked around, not enjoying the musty smell. You felt uncomfortable as you looked at the torn up furniture and scratched up walls. The dusty blue paint was chipping from the walls, revealing the brown rotted wood beneath it. The couches were sunken in with cockroaches climbing all over them. The floors creaked and the wood was rotted.
"Is this the Shrieking Shack?" You asked Sirius. You looked over for the dog but instead were met with the man himself.
"Yep. The infamous place itself. Follow me, please." He said, climbing up the creaky and broken stairs. You wobbled a bit and almost fell through before reaching the top.
Sirius opened the door politely for you and you walked in, sitting on the dusty and creaky bed.
"I've got something to tell you. And I'm almost positive you won't like it." Sirius said, looking at you.
"Go on..."
"I need to clear my name. I know you want me to, too. So I came up with a plan by myself. Just to let you know, I'm running this by you but you won't stop me." You nodded, watching him speak.
"I told you that Peter was an animagus, right?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah."
"Well I never told you what he was, did I?" You shook your head. "He's a rat. Both as a person and an animal."
You chuckled at his joke and he continued talking.
"Today, Hagrid's hippogriff is being executed." You gasped.
"That's today?! Oh my goodness, I- I have to-"
"No. There's nothing you can do. Lucius Malfoy is set on it." Sirius paused. "I heard that stupid blonde boy gossiping about it with his fat friends."
Stupid blonde boy. You chuckled. If only he knew.
"So I know the three will be outside-"
"Malfoy and his friends?" You asked, adjusting your position. The bed groaned under your weight and some dust flew off it.
"No, no of course not. Ronald Weasley, Harry, and the muggle born girl."
"Those are my friends..." You said slowly. "What do they have to do with this?"
"Oh! Right, I forgot to tell you. You know Ron's rat?"
You watched Sirius, hoping and praying he wasn't about to say what you thought he'd say.
"His rat isn't a rat at all. It's-"
"Peter Pettigrew." You said, disgusted, unsettled, and terrified. "That's disgusting! Ron takes that rat everywhere, it's probably seen him change, heard things-"
Sirius shuttered. "Don't remind me. It's even worse that Peter was a creep to begin with."
You sighed.
"Anyways, to explain what I'm going to do. I know the three will be outside. I need you to stay here when I do this. I won't put you in harms way and if anyone sees you with me-"
"No! Sirius I want to help prove your innocence-"
"No. No, you're not coming. Let me explain." So you silenced, a little annoyed but interested in his plan.
"Peter got out a couple nights ago. I'm planning on walking the grounds until some sign, any sign-"
"Of Peter." You finished for him. Sirius nodded.
A sharp wind rattled the building.
"I should probably get going. It'll be dark soon."
You sighed and watched Sirius slowly walk down the stairs. He was almost at the bottom before he stopped.
"Stay safe." He said before he disappeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Harry's POV
"Here to see the show?" Draco sneered at us. Anger poisoned my blood.
"You! You could loathe some evil little cockroach!" Hermione yelled, getting right up in Draco's face. She held her wand to his throat and I chuckled, hoping she would do something.
"Hermione, no! He's not worth it!" Ron shouted, clearly not in the mood for confrontation. I, however, was very much so in the mood figuring Draco is the reason Buckbeak is being executed in the first place.
Hermione thought about it for a second before turning away and beginning to walk back to the castle, angry and defeated. Draco began to laugh along with his stupid little friends.
So, Hermione turned around and punched him right in the face. I burst out in laughter, enjoying seeing this idiot in shock and sputtering random words.
Draco and his friends began to run back to the castle, whimpering. As they got through the doors we heard Draco mumble, "Filthy little mudblood!"
"Come on, we don't have time." Hermione said, pushing past us and down the trail to Hagrid's house. We followed her, both admiring the courage she just worked up to punch Malfoy in the face.
We got to the large doors of Hagrid's hut and knocked quickly. The door slowly swung open and Hagrid's weary face, and matted beard, appeared in the doorway.
"What're yer all doing out 'ere? Yer gotta go, The Minister is comin' soon-"
"Oh Hagrid!" Hermione cried. She pulled him into a itchy hug. "I'm so sorry!"
Hagrid sighed. "Nothing we coulda done. When that Lucius Malfoy's got 'is mind set, there is no changin' it."
The three of us walked inside, frowning. Hagrid sat down in one of the chairs at his table, the chair wobbling and groaning.
"You guys really can't be 'ere right now.... They should 'ere any minute. Oh! And Ron, look what I got 'ere!" Hagrid smiled and stood, the first smile we had seen from him since we got here.
Hagrid opened a pot and stuck his hand in, looking around for something. When it seemed he finally caught it, he lifted his hand from the pot.
"Scabbers!" Ron said happily, rushing over to take his beloved pet from Hagrid. Hagrid grinned.
"I told you Ronald! I knew that Crookshanks wouldn't eat hi-" Hermione began smugly, trying to hide the smile that was on her face. But she was interrupted when the pot where Scabbers had been suddenly shattered.
"What was that?" I asked. Suddenly, something small and hard, like a rock, hit the back of my head. It actually really hurt.
"Ow!" I said, turning to look out the window to see who threw it.
But instead I was met with the sight of Cornelius Fudge, Dumbledore, and a man in a black cloak with...
A giant axe. The Minister was here.