Though it was a vibrant spring, a solemn atmosphere surrounded Hogwarts.
The day of Buckbeak's execution had arrived.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron walked through the corridors toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest, their steps heavy with dread.
Draco, accompanied by his two usual cronies, was waiting by the path, proudly holding a new camera his father had bought him. He walked with a swagger that grated on everyone's nerves.
"I'm telling you, my father said I can keep the Hippogriff's head. I'm going to donate it to the Gryffindor common room," Malfoy's smug voice drifted over, turning Hermione's semester-long effort to prepare a defense for Hagrid into a cruel joke.
The Gryffindor lioness began to show her fury. Hermione marched purposefully toward the three of them.
Hearing the commotion, Draco turned around. He opened his arms wide to Hermione with a theatrical flourish. "Ah, welcome to the show! Hello, new audience members."
His words made the two dragons sitting on a nearby stone pillar simultaneously stick their heads out to look at him.
"Has he always been this brave?" Aiden asked, genuinely curious.
"He's a Malfoy," Astoria shrugged with a sigh.
Below the stone pillar, Hermione advanced on Malfoy with righteous anger, but he hadn't yet realized the impending danger.
"You—you vile, stinking cockroach! Like frog spawn!" Hermione snarled, raising her wand and pressing it against Malfoy's neck. Seeing his life flash before his eyes, Malfoy began to whimper pathetically.
Astoria reached out to stop Hermione, but Aiden caught her hand.
Stopped in her tracks, Astoria sent him a questioning look. Aiden simply shook his head, a silent command to let events unfold.
"Don't, Hermione. It's not worth it," Ron called out, his voice laced with concern.
Hearing her friend's plea, Hermione slowly lowered her wand. Seeing that he was safe, Malfoy's arrogant grin returned immediately.
Hermione lowered her wand, then balled her fist and punched Malfoy squarely in the face. Malfoy took the critical hit head-on, his head snapping back and hitting the stone pillar with a satisfying thud.
Draco and his cronies scurried away like the cockroaches Hermione had just described.
"Malfoy is really the worst, always causing trouble but terrified of the consequences. I can't believe father would betroth my sister to him. What kind of suffering would she endure?" Astoria's eyes lowered, a rare sadness touching her features.
"Then just take over the Greengrass family. Is there anyone in your family now who can stop you?" Aiden said, raising his left eyebrow.
"Depends on my mood." A sly smile lifted the corners of Astoria's mouth. The newborn dragon, led by the old dragon, was finally breaking free from its cage.
Below the stone pillar, Harry, Hermione, and Ron entered Hagrid's hut, wanting to accompany him through Buckbeak's final moments.
"How could I? I can't let young wizards see this. Alright, finish your tea and go back quickly," the warm-hearted Hagrid said, determined to protect their innocence.
"And Ron, your rat is with me. Don't lose him again," Hagrid added, pulling Scabbers out of a cage.
"Scabbers!" Ron exclaimed, picking up his rat and kissing and nuzzling it with relief.
At that moment, Dumbledore arrived at Hagrid's hut with Fudge and the executioner in tow.
The trio quickly slipped out the back door of the hut, while on the stone pillar above, Aiden and Astoria watched two sets of Harry and Hermione moving through the grounds.
"She really did abuse the Time-Turner," Astoria observed, not at all surprised.
"Let's go give them a hand. I'm a bit curious and want to do some research," Aiden suggested.
So, after the trio had climbed the stairs, the two walked down into the pumpkin patch.
Strangely, the five of them brushed past each other on the stone steps, yet no one seemed to notice the others.
In the pumpkin patch, the time-traveling Hermione and Harry were already struggling to pull Buckbeak away.
"Someone seems to need a little help," Aiden's voice said from right behind them.
"Ah!" both Harry and Hermione jumped in fright.
"Astoria! Aiden! Why are you two here?" Hermione asked, trying to feign composure.
"You know, changing the subject in front of two experts on the mind is not a good idea," Aiden laughed.
He then walked forward and effortlessly broke the iron ring on Buckbeak's tether.
"Whoa," Harry's eyes widened in amazement.
Astoria thoughtfully stepped forward and began to comb Hermione's frizzy hair. "I know a really good smoothing agent. I'll bring some for you next time," she said with a conspiratorial wink.
"Hey, can you two Legilimens stop reading our minds?" Hermione exclaimed, thoroughly exasperated. She made a mental note to schedule Occlumency lessons for herself as soon as possible.
"Let's go. Take Buckbeak into the Forbidden Forest. Fudge has already seen that Buckbeak is gone, and Hagrid's suspicion has been cleared," Aiden pointed toward the dark woods.
Hermione and Harry nodded, using a dead ferret to lure the Hippogriff deep into the forest's shadows.
"So, what's left to do now?" Astoria looked excited, clearly interested in exploring further.
"Got enough material. I didn't expect that traveling through time would actually leave a special fluctuation on a wizard," Aiden said, capturing a strand of transparent ripple in a special glass bottle.
"And then?" Astoria tilted her head, her curiosity piqued.
"Well, it's getting late," Aiden said, a playful smirk touching his lips. "Time for cute little witches to get their sleep. After all, staying up is terrible for the skin."
"You... you're talking nonsense! Are you trying to ditch me and go play by yourself?" Astoria put her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing with indignation.
"Are you sure you want to come along?" Aiden confirmed again.
"Of course," Astoria laughed, her determination unshakable.
Unable to send her away, Aiden took Astoria to the castle to find Lupin.
"Professor, we need you to cooperate with us in a play," Aiden said to the unsuspecting werewolf.
"Let's hear it," Lupin replied, looking at the two young wizards with curiosity.
Aiden briefly explained the situation to him.
"Are you sure you want to let Peter go? If this is true, it could cause great harm," Lupin said, a deep frown creasing his brow.
"I need someone completely loyal to us to lurk by Voldemort's side. Even without Peter, other servants would have rushed to his side anyway, because the prophecy has been made."
Aiden extracted the memory of him and the Director collecting prophecies from his mind and showed it to Lupin.
"Prophecy... is it really unstoppable?" Lupin murmured, his face pale.
"At least not for now," Aiden replied ambiguously.
"Alright," Lupin finally nodded in agreement.
Aiden, Astoria, and Professor Lupin set off for the Shrieking Shack.
On the other side of the grounds, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood at the top of the stairs, watching the scene below.
Looking at the blurry pumpkin patch, they saw the executioner walk over with his large axe.
A sharp sound of metal hitting the ground rang out, and Hermione sadly hugged Ron. Harry also gently leaned on her shoulder for support.
While the three were immersed in sadness, Scabbers, sensing danger, bit Ron's finger hard.
"Ow! He bit me?" Ron exclaimed in disbelief.
The rat fell to the ground and ran off quickly toward the Whomping Willow.
"Scabbers!" Ron, worried about his rat despite its betrayal, quickly gave chase.
After a frantic pursuit, Ron managed to intercept Scabbers just under the dangerous tree.
"Scabbers, you bit me," Ron said again, his tone one of pure disbelief.
Harry and Hermione, seeing Ron under the Whomping Willow, quickly called for him to run.
Unfortunately, a large black dog appeared behind them, its eyes fixed on Ron.
"Harry! Hermione! It's the Grim!" Ron, who firmly believed Trelawney's prophecies, was even more terrified now.
The big dog leaped up, charging at Ron, clearly trying to bite the rat in his hands.
But Ron protected Scabbers with all his might. Helpless, the black dog could only bite Ron's leg, dragging him into the secret passage hidden at the base of the Whomping Willow.