"It's lonely to be more powerful than any man you know."
- Merlin
Twelve years after Harry Potter defeated Voldemort and put an end to the First Wizarding War, the Wizarding world is shaken by the news that Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban. But no...
ARE YOU COMPARING MCGONAGALL TO A DEMENTOR NOW? ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
"He—he sent me this," Hermione said, holding out the letter. Harry took it and Rhea looked over his shoulder to see that the parchment was damp. Enormous tear drops had smudged the ink, making it even more difficult to read Hagrid's loopy handwriting.
Dear Hermione, We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execution date to be fixed. Beaky has enjoyed London. I won't forget all the help you gave us. Hagrid
Rhea's heart broke at the news. She didn't even mind that Hermione had gotten all the credit for helping out — truth be told, Hermione had probably done the most for Hagrid even if Rhea helped — because all she could think about was poor Buckbeak.
"They can't do this," Harry shook his head in denial. "They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous."
"Malfoy's dad's frightened the Committee into it," Hermione said, wiping her eyes. "You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal, though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope — Nothing will have changed."
"Yeah, it will," Ron said fiercely. "You won't have to do all the work alone this time, Hermione. I'll help."
"Oh, Ron!" Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck and broke down completely. Ron, looking quite terrified, patted her very awkwardly on the top of the head. Rhea bit her lip to prevent a laugh, earning herself a narrowed eyed glare from Ron.
Finally, Hermione drew away. "Ron, I'm really, really sorry about Scabbers...," she sobbed.
"Oh—well—he was old," Ron said, looking thoroughly relieved that she had let go of him. "And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl now."
"If I had known that fear of death is all it took to get you to stop fighting, I would have put Harry in the Hospital Wing weeks ago," Rhea said, earning an offended look from the bespectacled boy. "Nothing too life-threatening — just serious enough to unite them in concern for your health."
. • ⚯͛ • .
With all the safety measures imposed on the students since her father's second break-in, it was impossible for Harry, Rhea, Ron, and Hermione to go and visit Hagrid in the evenings. Therefore their only chance of talking to him was during Care of Magical Creatures lessons. Rhea's first thought when they arrived for class was that he seemed numb with shock at the verdict.
"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all them dates yeh looked up fer me, Hermione. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em..."
