The chase through the forest finally led them near Whomping Willow.
Ron lunged forward at the last second and crashed onto the ground, barely managing to catch Scabbers before the rat disappeared beneath the roots nearby.
"I got him—"
Ron stopped suddenly.
Still lying on the ground, he slowly turned around.
Then his face went completely pale.
His eyes widened in horror as he shakily raised a hand past Harry, Hermione, and Victor.
"Harry…" Ron whispered weakly. "Harry…"
Something in his voice made all three of them turn immediately.
Standing a short distance away was a massive black dog.
It was enormous.
Far larger than any normal dog should have been, with matted black fur and deep dark eyes fixed directly on them while low growls rumbled from its throat.
For one brief second, nobody moved.
Then the dog launched forward.
It moved unbelievably fast.
Ron screamed and tried scrambling backward, but the animal crashed into him before he could even stand properly. Its jaws clamped onto Ron's leg hard enough to make him cry out in pain.
"AHH—!"
"RON!" Harry shouted.
The dog dragged him violently across the ground toward the base of the Whomping Willow.
"GET IT OFF—GET IT OFF ME!"
Then, before Harry could reach them, the dog disappeared with Ron through a hidden opening beneath the tree's roots.
Ron's screams echoed briefly before vanishing underground.
Victor watched the scene unfold with surprising calm.
Yeah… those screams, he thought absently. Ron really does scream loudly.
Then the Whomping Willow suddenly came alive.
The massive tree began thrashing violently, branches swinging through the air with enough force to shatter stone.
Harry rushed toward the hidden entrance instinctively—
A branch slammed toward him at terrifying speed.
"Harry!" Hermione screamed.
Victor snapped out of his thoughts immediately.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Hermione around the waist and jumped sideways just as another branch smashed into the ground where she had been standing moments earlier.
Wood exploded across the dirt.
"This," Victor said while dodging another swing, "is exactly why I hate sentient plants."
Another branch swept toward them.
Victor ducked under it while still holding Hermione as splinters flew through the air around them.
Nearby, Harry was struggling to move closer through the violent attacks.
"Help!" Harry shouted after nearly getting hit again.
Victor looked toward him incredulously while avoiding another branch.
"Can't you see I'm busy not dying?" he shouted back.
Hermione grabbed onto Victor's shoulder tightly while staring at the tree in panic.
"We have to get Ron!" she said.
"I'm aware," Victor replied while another branch narrowly missed his head. "The tree simply disagrees with the plan."
Another branch swung toward Harry with enough force to break every bone in his body if it connected properly.
Harry tried to dodge, but the violent movement of the roots beneath him made him lose balance for a split second.
That was enough.
The branch slammed into his side and threw him completely off the ground.
"Harry!" Hermione screamed.
Harry crashed painfully against another branch of the Whomping Willow and barely managed to grab onto it before the tree tried shaking him loose again.
Meanwhile the Willow continued thrashing violently around them, branches smashing into the ground hard enough to send dirt and broken wood flying everywhere.
"Hermione!" Victor shouted while narrowly avoiding another swing himself. "Use the blasting spell!"
Hermione pulled out her wand immediately, panic obvious on her face.
"On Harry?!"
Victor looked at her for half a second like she had completely lost her mind.
"No, the branch!"
Another thick limb whipped toward Harry while he struggled to hold on.
"If that thing hits him again, he dies!"
Hermione quickly aimed upward.
"Bombarda!"
The spell struck the branch Harry was clinging to.
The wood exploded apart with a loud crack, splinters bursting through the air as the branch shattered beneath him.
Harry instantly lost his grip.
"AHHHH—!"
He dropped through the air and disappeared straight into the hidden opening beneath the tree roots.
For one brief second, everything went strangely quiet.
Then Harry's scream echoed faintly from somewhere underground.
Victor immediately looked toward the opening.
"…Well," he muttered, "Harry found the entrance."
The Whomping Willow recovered almost instantly and another branch came swinging toward them.
Victor reacted without hesitation.
Before Hermione could even protest properly, he threw her directly toward the opening beneath the tree.
"VICTOR—!"
Hermione vanished underground still screaming.
Another branch smashed into the ground behind Victor hard enough to shake the dirt beneath his feet.
Without wasting another second, Victor jumped into the hole himself just before the tree slammed another branch down over the entrance.
The tunnel beneath the Willow was steep, narrow, and completely out of control.
The moment Victor landed inside, he immediately began sliding downward at dangerous speed through dirt, roots, and rock while trying unsuccessfully to slow himself.
Ahead of him, Hermione crashed directly into Harry.
A second later Victor crashed into both of them from behind, sending all three tumbling deeper through the dark tunnel while their combined screaming echoed underground like some deranged roller coaster ride beneath Hogwarts.
*****
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