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𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐃 at her. He and the rest of them were in shock.
"Don't be stupid. What are you talking about?"
"She's right! He's here!" Hermione gasped.
Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down. With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get back inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table.
"Scabbers!" said Ron blankly. "Scabbers, what are you doing here?"
He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers looked dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had fallen out leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as though desperate to free himself.
"It's okay, Scabbers!" said Ron. "No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!"
"I don't think it's cause of the cats Ron...something is wrong with that rat." Marina mumbled studying it.
Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window. His normally ruddy face had gone the color of parchment.
"They're comin'..."
Harry, Marina, Ron, and Hermione whipped around. A group of men was walking down the distant castle steps.
In front was Albus Dumbledunce, his silver beard gleaming in the dying sun. Next to him trotted Cornelius Fudge. Behind them came the feeble old Committee member and the executioner, Macnair.
"Yeh gotta go," said Hagrid. Every inch of him was trembling. "They mustn' find yeh here... Go now..."
Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket and Marina picked up the cloak.
"I'll let yeh out the back way," said Hagrid.
They followed him to the door into his back garden. Marina felt strangely unreal, and even more so when he saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Buckbeak seemed to know something was happening. He turned his sharp head from side to side and pawed the ground nervously.
"It's okay, Beaky," said Hagrid softly. "It's okay..."
He turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Go on," he said. "Get goin'."
But they didn't move.
"Hagrid, we can't —" "We'll tell them what really happened —" "They can't kill him —" "It's bull crap what's going on!"
"Go!" said Hagrid fiercely. "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"
They had no choice. As Marina threw the cloak over Harry, Hermione, and Ron, they heard voices at the front of the cabin. Hagrid looked at the place where they had just vanished from sight.
