Change the Future

POA 16

Hermione shrieked with pain as the tree hit her too. Harry felt for his wand.

"Lumos!"he whispered. The wand light showed the trunk of the tree.

"Guys get back that's the Whomping Willow" Rory shouted at Harry and Hermione as the tree was whipping its branches backward and forward to stop them from going nearer.

"Yes listen to her" Lily said watching the screen with wide eyes.

"Ron!" Harry shouted, trying to follow again, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and he was forced backward again.

"Harry we've got to go for help" Hermione gasped she was bleeding, the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him, we haven't got time" Rory rolled her eyes at Harry.

"I wouldn't eat a kid" Sirius said disgusted at the thought.

"Harry we're never going to get through without help" Hemrione said as another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, we can," Harry panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but he couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree roots without being in range of the tree's blows.

"Harry stop a minute" Rory shouted at him as he got hit again.

"See he's an idiot" Rory muttered so Lily didn't hear.

"Oh, help, help," Hermione whispered frantically, dancing uncertainly on the spot, "Please" Crookshanks darted forward. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk. Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to marble, it stopped moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook. "Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. She now grasped Harry's arm painfully hard. "How did he know?"

"He's friends with that dog," said Harry grimly as Rory raised her eyebrow at him "I've seen them together. Come on and keep your wands out" Rory pulled out her wand as they covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before we had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail.

"Your wand is beautiful by the way" Narcissa said smiling at her.

"Thank you and that reminds me, Ron can I have my wand back" He glares at her before handing it back "thanks" 

Harry went next; he crawled forward, headfirst and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel as Rory followed behind him. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down beside them.

"Where's Ron?" she whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way," Harry answered her, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.

"Where does this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked breathlessly from behind.

"I don't know... It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it.... It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade"

"It leads to the Shrieking shack" Rory tells them as theu continue moving as fast as they could, bent almost double. Ahead of them Crookshanks tail bobbed in and out of view. On and on went the passage. Harry was drawing breath in sharp, painful gasps as they started running at a crouch. And then the tunnel began to rise moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. They paused, gasping for breath, edging forward, raising their wands to see what lay ahead. It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up. Harry glanced at Hermione, who looked very frightened but nodded then at me before he pulled himself out of the hole, staring around. The room was deserted, but a door to our right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's arm again. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.