This Can Never Be Real || George Weasley

Forty one

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐲

The next few days we got news that Buckbeak was to be executed at sunset. Me, Isa, Harry, Ron, and Hermione snuck out of the castle to be with Hagrid.

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid said as we walked in.

"We wanted to," Hermione said, "Where's Buckbeak?"

"Outside," Hagrid said. "He's tethered in his pumpkin patch. Thought he outta see the trees an' smell fresh air before...before..."

His hand trembled and he dropped a milk jug on the floor. It shattered and I began to clean the shards up.

"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it—while it happens." Hagrid said sadly. "Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore..."

"We'll be here too," I said.

"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don't want yeh watching. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway. If Fudge and Dumbledore catch yeh without permission... yeh'll be in big trouble. Especially you, Harry and Zell."

There was a squeaking sound at that moment, and a very familiar looking rat came out from under the table.

"Scabbers!" Ron said, making my heart skip a beat and my stomach drop as he picked it up.

Scabbers was supposed to be dead. Hermione's cat Crookshanks had eaten him, right?

"They're coming!" Harry said suddenly.

I looked out the window and saw an approaching group.

"Yeh gotta go," Hagrid said, trembling. "They mustn't find yeh here, go, now..."

We darted to the back, and hid in the pumpkin patch as Harry, Ron, Isa, and Hermione became hidden under the Invisibility Cloak.

When we reached the top of the hill near the entrance to Hogwarts, we all huddled under the cloak and watched in horror as the executioner exited the hut.

"Scabbers!" Ron gasped suddenly.

The rat screeched wildly, making me want to turn into my animagus and eat it.

There was a thud.

"They did it!" Hermione gasped, bursting into tears and leaning on my shoulder.

Hermione sighed against my shoulder.

I patted her gently on the back, unsure what to do or say. Do I say 'Sorry for your loss?' That might not even make sense.

As someone who had witnessed death before, I wasn't as shaken up as the five people beside me. Ron was paler than usual. Hermione bloomed anxious, afraid, depressed, and angry all at once. Harry looked utterly emotionless, I felt horrible, of course, but I didn't feel sad or shocked, just furious. Isa looked the same: biting her lip anxiously.

"Hagrid," Harry mumbled.

"Come again?" The twins asked, looking up.

"Hagrid!" Harry said, beginning to head down to the hut.

"We can't," Ron said, reaching out and grabbing his arm to pull him back. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've gone to see him..."

Hermione let out a small wheeze. "How—could—they?" She choked. "How could they?"

"We'll get Lucius Malfoy for this," Harry hissed. "We will..."

"Come on you two," Ron said, pushing Harry towards the castle and awkwardly patting Hermione's back. "It's freezing out here."