𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

chapter eight

The wind howled past my head, whipping my hair behind me while I walked with my friends down the hill towards Hagrid's hut. Malfoy had told his father about Buckbeak's so-called attack on him. Lucius had called for the hippogriff's execution, and tonight was the night for it.

Draco's excited voice filtered past the wind into my ears as he spoke to Crabbe and Goyle. "My father said I get to keep the head!"

I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore him while we walked. Hermione, however, had other plans. She left the group, stomped over to Malfoy, and, when he faced her, slammed her fist into his face.

I could hear a snap even at a distance, and I looked at Star, using my hand to cover my shock.

"The hell, Granger?"

"You deserved that well!" Hermione yelled, rejoining us.

Star and I looked back at him. I could see a slight bit of concern in her eyes, and I felt a need to help him, even though I tried to push it away.

"Do you see who you're hanging out with, you fake?" Malfoy shouted at Star. His voice was slightly muffled, since he was holding his nose with his hand and trying to cover up the blood.

Star looked at me. Now, her pity shown true and I nodded, knowing exactly what she wanted. We walked up to Malfoy while the Gryffindor trio stormed away.

"Maybe if you weren't so rude all the time, they would respect you more," Star said, holding her wand up to her brother's face. With a quick spell, his nose was back in its place.

"Thank you," he mumbled sheepishly. Even though the bone was healed, red blood had dried over his lips and under his nose.

"Do you want me to help with that?" I asked, not expecting a serious answer. However, Draco nodded, and I had to think of something quickly. "Uh, Accio towel." A small washcloth appeared in my hand. "Augamenti Minimus."

Once the towel was damp, I handed it to Draco. "Thank you," he answered, already beginning to wipe the blood from his face. He started walking back to the castle, so Star and I turned around to rejoin the Gryffindors.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron were nowhere to be seen, most likely already at Hagrid's hut. Star and I sat down in the green grass to help pass the time.

I laid down on my back, looking up at the sky. The clouds were pink and orange, thanks to the fading sunset, and the sky held the same hues. The wind had died down, leaving us alone with the sounds of birds.

"He wasn't always this mean."

Star's quiet voice startled me, and I sat up to show that I was paying attention to her.

"Draco, I mean." Her words were soft, as if she were talking about a small kitten, not her brother. "When he and I were little, he loved the stars. I thought they were silly, mostly because of my name, but he tried to hard to change my mind. He was such a sweet, playful kid."

I stayed quiet, taking in this new information.

"Our dad hated it, though. All he wanted was for us to be strong, independent wizards, even before we could speak. I remember, each time Draco would try to bring up something he loved, Father would belittle him. I used to hide outside of Draco's door and listen to him cry, wishing I could just change everything for him."

"Really?"

Star nodded. "Draco must have gotten sick of the constant teasing, and stopped sharing things with us. Father taught us that we, the Malfoy's, are superior to all Wizarding families, including you, the Potters. Draco used to look up to you and Harry so much as a kid. He thought you two were the coolest kids ever. I mean, you stopped an evil wizard as a baby! And then our father said that Draco and I were better than you two, and he was so happy."

"Oh," I said quietly, unsure of how else to respond.

"All Draco ever wanted was to make Father proud. I feel bad for him sometimes because of how desperate he is. I stopped caring long ago since my mother was proud of us no matter what, and my mother was the person who I cared about. Draco only cared about Father's opinion."

I turned to respond, attempting to form meaningful words to the important things Star had just told me, but a yell yanked my attention from my friend.

"Scabbers!" Ron yelled, running over the hill.

Star and I shot up, joining the group again. We followed Ron, who was looking for his pet rat, Scabbers. We approached the Whomping Willow, which immediately began flinging its branches at us.

Ron ducked under the branches to get to his rat. We followed his lead still, ducking to avoid being hit. Our red-headed friend got next to the trunk of the willow and was pulled into the tree, screaming instantly.

"Ron!"

We dashed into the tree trunk, trying to follow his screams through a long, wooden path. It eventually opened into an old, broken house, called the Shrieking Shack, according to Star.

Ron was lying on the ground, his leg twisted in a way it could only be broken. A large, black dog stood over him protectively, snarling.

"Go! Get away from our friend!" Harry screamed. Professor Lupin and Snape walked in from another room, both holding wands, ready to fight.

"What are they doing here?" I whispered to Hermione, who was standing next to me. She shrugged.

"There he is!" Lupin yelled, pointing his wand at the dog. The dog started transforming, turning into a man with shaggy black hair. "Sirius?"

Shock ran through my veins. Sirius Black? The name sounded familiar.

"Don't hit me. You know I'm innocent, Remus. I have the real killer here." He held open his palm, where Scabbers the rat was sitting.

"Are you sure it's Wormtail?"

"I'm positive. He only has nine fingers."

Remus nodded and pointed his wand at Scabbers. With a spell and wave of his wand, the rat fell from Sirius's open hand and began growing, turning into an actual human. His hair was greyed, and he had two enlarged teeth. He looked like a rat even in his human form.

"Peter Pettigrew," said Sirius. "Do you know what you did? You killed Lily and James Potter, imprisoned me and Moony in Azkaban for years, and now you're working for Voldemort?" He growled and held his wand to the man's throat. "You're horrible."

"Sirius, don't hurt him yet," advised Lupin.

"Why? He obviously didn't hesitate to run our lives."

"That doesn't mean you should do the same. Let me handle this."

Sirius hesitated for a moment before dropping Peter and allowing Lupin to get past him. I took that time to reevaluate my surroundings. Ron was still lying on the floor in pain, but Sirius was no longer standing over him. Hermione and Star were standing next to him, trying to assess his health. Harry and I stood up, wands at the ready in case of an emergency. Snape remained in the doorway, watching the scene just as we were.

"L-let me explain!" Peter cried. "I had no choice! The Dark Lord was going to kill me."

"You should have accepted death, you coward!" Sirius yelled.

Lupin didn't say anything, but he did start twitching in a manic way.

"Harry, Y/n," Sirius shouted, noticing his movements as well. "Get out of here and bring your friends! Hurry."

Harry and Star worked together to grab Ron and drag him through the tunnel again. After a lot of crawling, we emerged from the base of the willow tree and stopped, just out of reach of its branches again. A loud snarl came from the Forbidden Forest and I turned to Hermione and Star. "Can you two please get Ron to the Hospital Wing?"

Hermione nodded before handing Harry a small pendant. They ran off and my brother and I went to face the creature.