Melanie Rosen: Year 3 (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Chapter 23 The Truth

Chapter 23

The Truth

    I walked down the hill towards Hagrid’s hut. Looking down at the letter in my hand, I felt tempted to open it but resisted the urge.

    As I slowly continued on, I could have sworn I heard whispering but when I looked around I saw no one. There were no dementors in sight so I didn’t think they were responsible for making me hear voices. It must just be my imagination.

    “He bit me!” I heard a voice whisper loudly. That sounded pretty real.

    “Hello?” I questioned, looking around curiously.

    Feeling even more easier, I started to step forward, keeping my gaze sharp. I then saw Crookshanks sniffing the ground.

    “What are you doing out here?” I wondered aloud to the cat. I then shrugged figuring Hermione must have let him out for some fresh air.

    “Scabbers, come back here!”

    “Scabbers?” I muttered, now even more befuddled.

    The next thing I knew, that little rat darted right past me. I screeched and jumped back. Crookshanks took off right after him.

    “Melanie, why didn’t you catch him or at least the cat?”

    I looked over and saw Ron appear out of nowhere, dashing towards the direction Scabbers ran.

    I pushed my messy hair back and responded, “Sorry Ron, I didn’t expect to see your dead rat here. Where did you even come from?”

    Ignoring me, Ron ran after his rat. My feet remained planted feeling even more confused. I saw Harry and Hermione appear like a blink and then realized they were using Harry’s Invisibility cloak.

    “What are you guys doing?” I asked.

    Harry answered, “We came to be with Hagrid but he sent us back before…”

    “Did they…” I began but judging by Harry’s slightly paler face and Hermione’s watery eyes, I could already tell the answer to Buckbeak’s fate.

    “What are you doing here?” Harry asked me.

    I held up the envelope. “Professor Lupin wanted me to give this to Hagrid. It was all I had to do for my detention.”

    As Harry opened his mouth to say something else, Hermione’s eyes widened as she pointed ahead and shrieked, “Harry, Ron’s heading straight towards the Whomping Willow!”

    We ran after Ron. He actually managed to catch Scabbers before the cat got to him. However, once we got to Ron, we found he was not alone. A giant black dog lingered by, looking aggressive.

    “Do you think that’s what Trelawney meant by the Grim?” I muttered.

    We all got out our wands, but none of us were quick enough. The jet black dog made a leap towards Ron, latching on to him with his jaws. It then dragged Ron away. Now that the sun had set, it was too late to see just where the dog took Ron.

    The three of us tried to make our way after Ron. At the sound of a crash, I whirl my head around and see Harry had been thrown to the ground.

    “The tree’s attacking us!” Hermione cried out.

    I held up my left arm as I attempted to reach for my wand. Something hard then slammed against my raised arm causing me to slam flat on the ground face down. I felt something snap in my pocket. My left arm throbbed when I moved it so I used my right arm to raise myself up. I squinted my eyes to see the cat’s figure appear to go under the tree. I crawled after it. The last branch barely missed me as I stumbled under the tree.