Forged in Darkness (English) ON PAUSE

Chapter 8: Full Moon Nights (Part 1)

The afternoon is sweltering, and the air seems to hold an invisible tension. Hermione and I meet Harry and Ron in the Gryffindor courtyard. The tension between Harry and me is palpable. He tries to ignore me, and I do the same, but the silence that forms is unbearable. Only Hermione seems determined to maintain some balance, casting me looks that encourage me to make peace, but today I'm really not in the mood.

We walk along the path leading to Hagrid's hut, a man to whom I am deeply attached, like an uncle. In the summer, when my father was busy, I would stay with him; we almost always cooked or played board games. Unfortunately, this year I've seen him very little—school and everything else take up so much time and leave little for me.

During the walk, no one dares to speak. Even Ron, usually so talkative, seems to feel the weight of the situation. The forest draws near, and my thoughts wander, returning to the events of yesterday and the confusion that grips me.

Suddenly, I hear someone call my name. Draco appears out of nowhere, accompanied by those two imbeciles: Goyle and Crabbe. His gaze is full of contempt, and I already know that nothing good will come of this.

"Sarah," he begins with that haughty voice that always irritates me, "I can't believe you're walking with this riffraff." His gaze lands on Harry with particular disdain.

I take a deep breath. "What do you want, Draco?"

He shakes his head as if he is genuinely disappointed. "I thought you were different, I thought you were better than this. But apparently, I was wrong. You're just a... blood traitor, like them."

His words hit me like a slap, but I don't give him the satisfaction of seeing how much they hurt. "And I thought you were smart enough not to be your father's puppet," I reply, keeping my voice steady.

Draco stiffens, but before he can reply, Harry steps forward, visibly furious. "Get lost, Malfoy. You have no business here."

Malfoy laughs, a cold, humorless sound. "Always ready to defend your little friends, Potter. But don't worry, Sarah, when you realize how out of place you are with them, I'll still be here. Maybe then you'll understand who your real friends are."

I ignore him and, with a brusque gesture, signal to Hermione and the others to continue. I don't want to waste any more time with Malfoy and his venomous insults.

Draco is my best friend, but when he acts like this, I just want to punch him in the face. But this time, Hermione has already taken care of it.

We arrive at Hagrid's hut, and the atmosphere immediately turns somber. Hagrid's imposing figure is visibly downcast, and his wrinkled face is marked by sadness. "Oh, you came..." Hagrid murmurs in a broken voice. "Thank you, kids, thank you so much."

The hut is dark and silent, and I can feel the anguish hanging in the air. Hermione approaches Hagrid, trying to comfort him as best she can. "Buckbeak doesn't deserve this, Hagrid. We can't give up."

Ron nods, also visibly upset. "There must be something we can do..."

"They've already decided, kids," Hagrid replies in a gloomy voice, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. "They've already sentenced him... there's nothing we can do."

As we speak, I hear a sudden noise behind me. I turn quickly and see a vase fallen to the ground, shattered into a thousand pieces. My heart starts pounding, but there's no time to figure out what made it fall. Outside the window, I see Dumbledore approaching the hut, accompanied by the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and the executioner sent for Buckbeak.

"Hagrid, we have to go," I say, trying to stay calm. "They're coming."

Hagrid's eyes fill with fresh tears. "I don't want you to have to see... go, kids. Please."

Hermione tries to protest, but I know we can't do anything but obey. "Let's go," I say in a faint voice. I take Hermione's hand, and together with the others, we exit through the back door, trying to make as little noise as possible.

We cross the small pumpkin patch, hearts heavy. Hagrid tries to buy us some time to get inside the castle, but we stop on the hill where we were before. From here, we can't see anything, but we hear only the heart-wrenching sound of Buckbeak's death. Hermione stifles a sob, and I squeeze her hand harder, trying to comfort her.

We make our way back to the castle, but Scabbers, Ron's rat, escapes. Stupid as he is, Ron starts to chase him, and we begin to follow him. This boy couldn't survive an hour on his own outside the castle. He has the intelligence of a prehistoric monkey...

But then, after a long run, something changes. Before we can react, a dog lunges at us. Everything happens so fast that I don't have time to process what's happening. In an instant, the dog grabs Ron by the leg and drags him into the Whomping Willow.

We run toward him, but the Whomping Willow seems alive, its branches striking everything and everyone with fury.

Finally, after a long struggle with the tree, we manage to enter; the dark tunnel leads us to the Shrieking Shack.

We arrive in the main room, and everything is revealed. The large dog transforms, and Sirius Black appears before us. But he's not the monster we all imagined. Harry, furious, confronts him, but at that moment, Lupin arrives. My heart races; there's something about him that always calms me. But not this time.

Lupin and Sirius confront each other, talking about truths that have been hidden for too long. Before I can understand what's happening, I see Ron pointing at the rat that has lived with him for years: Scabbers. But he's not just a rat.

Under the incredulous gaze of everyone, Lupin and Sirius force Scabbers to return to his true form: Peter Pettigrew. I'm shocked. Peter starts talking, trying to defend himself, but the truth is darker than we could have imagined.

Meanwhile, the situation worsens: Snape has also arrived, but after a few minutes, he is thrown against the wall by Harry, who wanted to know more about his past.

After a few questions about him, his father, and Sirius, Harry calms down, and so do we. We decide to leave, and as we're outside, Peter desperately tries to convince Ron that he's innocent. But then his gaze and attention turn to me. "You... you're so much like your father. I can't believe he hasn't told you the truth..."

My blood runs cold. "My father? What are you talking about?" I ask in a trembling voice.

Peter seems confused, as if he's said something he shouldn't have. "Oh, but of course you know, everyone knows... you..."

Lupin cuts him off abruptly, grabbing him by the collar. "Enough, Peter!"

But it's too late. His words have shaken me deeply. Who is my father really? My heart fills with questions and begins to pound. But there's no time for answers. The situation becomes even more tense when, suddenly, the full moon appears through the clouds.

Lupin stiffens, and we all realize what's about to happen. Sirius tries to protect us, but the fury of a werewolf is uncontrollable.

The battle that follows is chaotic and terrifying. Harry went with Sirius, no one knows where, Lupin has disappeared, and I, Hermione, Ron, and Snape rushed to the infirmary due to Ron's leg condition.

Author's Note

This chapter is very confusing, as you've probably noticed, describing scenes like this is not my strong suit, sorry, I hope you still enjoy it. Given the confusion, the chapter will be divided into two parts.