The mont they stepped into Hagrid’s hut, the first thing that caught their eye was Buckbeak. The hippogriff lay sprawled across Hagrid’s patchwork bedspread, its massive wings tucked tightly against its sides, leisurely feasting on a dead weasel.
On the door of Hagrid’s wardrobe hung a ridiculously large, shaggy brown suit and a garish yellow-and-orange striped tie that was downright painful to look at.
“Hagrid, are you all set to head to the Ministry of Magic?” Anne asked, with Fanny and Hermione trailing behind her.
Hagrid was pouring tea when Anne spoke. Her words startled him enough that he spilled a bit onto the floor. Hermione quickly stepped forward to help.
Rubbing his hands nervously, Hagrid settled into the largest chair in the room and said with a tense voice, “It’s this Friday. Buckbeak’s case goes before the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, so we’re off to London together. I’ve already booked two beds on the Knight Bus…”
Anne glanced at Fanny and Hermione before gently reassuring him, “Don’t worry, Hagrid. We’ve already prepared a lot. When the ti cos, you just need to read your statent properly.”
“She’s right,” Fanny chid in imdiately.
Hermione used her wand to guide the teacups in front of each of them and took a sip herself. Her tone was firm. “Exactly. Hagrid, Buckbeak’s going to be fine…”
“We’ve brought a new version of your defense statent, shorter, easier to rember, and more persuasive. It summarizes the information my uncle sent and includes notes on the Ministry’s legal procedures…” Anne explained.
Hagrid accepted the parchnt and could imdiately tell how much effort had gone into it. The argunts were clearly laid out in simple terms.
“Here, I’ve marked the harder-to-rember parts with a double underline,” Anne said, pointing them out.
They were just wrapping up their discussion when the door to the hut suddenly burst open, but no one was standing there. Instead, they heard two fast, anxious voices in mid-conversation: “Hagrid, did you hear what happened on Saturday? We think, ”
The voices stopped mid-sentence, and two invisible figures suddenly beca visible, Harry and Ron. Ron yelped, “What are you doing here?!”
“Harry? Ron?” “You two?” “How did you even get out of the castle?” ca three overlapping voices, Hermione, Fanny, and Hagrid. Hermione and Fanny sounded surprised. Hagrid sounded furious. All three jumped to their feet.
Harry awkwardly pointed at the door. “We were in a rush. The door was open and the lights were on.”
“You’ve got so nerve sneaking out of the castle right now!” Hagrid barked angrily. “You should know better, ”
“That’s exactly why we ca to talk to you!” Harry shot back.
Ron scowled and added, his eyes darting to Hermione, “Why are they here?”
“We ca to deliver Hagrid’s defense speech,” Fanny replied curtly. “Buckbeak’s hearing is this Friday. Not that so people even rembered that.”
Harry and Ron froze. They had completely forgotten about the promise they made to help Hagrid because of all the chaos with Quidditch.
“Sorry, Hagrid… we ant to help,” Harry said sheepishly.
“I’m not angry with you,” Hagrid said, his beard twitching with emotion. “I know you’ve both had your hands full, I’ve seen you training on the pitch day and night…”
Then he paused, looking between Hermione and Ron.
“But you two,” he continued, voice firr, “I ant to talk to you in private, but now’s as good a ti as any. I need to tell you this, you should value your friends more than broomsticks or rats. That’s all I’ll say.”
Hermione flushed with embarrassnt. Ron and Harry exchanged an awkward glance before Ron turned away, choosing not to argue.
“Saturday night, Ron, you were almost stabbed by Sirius Black! Hermione and I were both worried sick!” Fanny added sincerely. Fresh chapters posted on NoveI~Fire
Ron’s face turned red. But hearing that, Hagrid nearly jumped out of his chair.
“Black?! At night? What on earth happened?!”
Harry quickly explained the entire incident: how Black had broken into Gryffindor Tower Saturday night, thanks to Neville losing a piece of parchnt with the week’s passwords.
“rlin’s beard! I didn’t even know… I’ve been so caught up with Buckbeak I haven’t been to the castle in days…” Hagrid muttered uneasily.
Once Harry finished recounting everything, Hagrid looked even more distraught. Between Buckbeak’s trial and Black’s break-in, he seed ready to tear his hair out.
But then he spotted Anne, who had at so point moved to sit quietly in front of the fireplace. With a sudden slap to his forehead, Hagrid exclaid, “You know what? This is exactly the kind of thing Anne would know how to deal with!”
“...Huh?” Anne blinked, startled, then turned to find everyone staring at her.
Glancing around at their expectant faces, her first response was, “Uh, could soone close the door? Aren’t you cold? And really, can we all sit down? You look tired just standing there.”
After Ron shut the door and everyone found a seat, Anne moved her chair away from the fireplace and pulled out a bag of sweets from her schoolbag.
“You’ve all been talking for ages. Want so snacks?” she said casually. “Hagrid, how about so more hot tea?”
She tossed a few sweets to Harry and Ron. They caught them instinctively but didn’t eat them, unsure of what to make of Anne’s attitude.
After distributing candy to Hermione, Fanny, and Hagrid, Anne popped a lollipop into her mouth and finally said, “Alright. Sweets help you think. Now that the mood’s better… let’s talk about Black. Has anyone noticed anything odd about his wanted poster?”
Everyone shook their heads, except Hermione, who glanced at Anne. Anne nodded at her to speak.
“I think it’s the phrase ‘more or less human’… That’s really strange! I’ve looked through loads of books but found no explanation.”
“Of course not. No book would have the answer,” Anne said with a nod of approval. “That phrase ans if Black is found, it doesn’t matter whether he’s alive, dead, or even in pieces, he’s to be taken out on sight.”
She paused, letting that sink in.
“So think about it. Black knows how dangerous his situation is. He made all that effort to sneak into Gryffindor Tower, didn’t find who he was looking for, and then got caught. That explains why he bolted when Ron woke up.”
“As for Hagrid’s concern about Harry’s safety, I agree. Harry, you really shouldn’t leave the castle unless absolutely necessary.”
Harry’s expression darkened. He knew Black was after him. The danger was real. But instead of responding directly, he changed the subject.
“What about the Quidditch match?”
“Quidditch?” Anne tilted her head and smiled. “With that Firebolt and the youngest Seeker in a century on your side, even as a Slytherin, I have to admit, Gryffindor has a great chance of winning the Cup.”
That brought smiles all around. Even Harry looked a little proud again.
“But back to Buckbeak,” Anne said. “We’ve done all we can. The rest depends on how things go that day. Best case? A full acquittal.”
She looked at Hagrid, watching his reaction as she ntioned the possibility of execution. He didn’t flinch, just a flicker of fear in his eyes.
“As long as you stay calm, I think there’s real hope,” she added. Hagrid gave her a warm, grateful smile.
“Now, onto the last topic…” Anne tilted her head, glancing at Ron and Hermione in turn. This one was tricky. Very tricky.
She knew the truth, that Crookshanks hadn’t eaten Scabbers. Scabbers wasn’t even a real rat. He was Peter Pettigrew, an Animagus. But of course, she couldn’t say that.
She had no good excuse to make them reconcile. So things just had to co from the heart.
Hagrid glanced encouragingly at the two of them. So did Fanny and Harry.
“Ron…”
“Hermione…”
They both spoke at the sa ti, locked eyes, and then quickly looked away.
Such a perfect match, Anne thought, amused. They clearly already worked this out themselves.
Hermione was the first to break the silence. “Ron… about Scabbers, I’m really, really sorry…”
Ron stared at the floor. “Well… he was old anyway. And honestly, pretty useless. Maybe Mum and Dad’ll finally get an owl…”
“Brilliant!” Hagrid clapped his hands and stood up again, patting Anne’s shoulder so hard she nearly choked on her lollipop.
“I knew you’d sort this out, Anne! Nothing better than friends making up!”
Anne pulled the lollipop from her mouth, waved her hand, and sipped her tea.
“That’s not my doing,” she said. “I’m not so all-powerful problem-solver. All I did was offer a few different perspectives. The real credit goes to Ron and Hermione, they figured it out on their own.”
She looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione and added, seriously, “Honestly, I believe the three of you are capable of handling a lot more on your own.”
Fanny giggled beside them. “You know what Anne once said? She called you guys the salt of the earth!”
“The salt of what?” Ron blinked. Harry looked equally puzzled.
Hermione, however, stared at Anne in surprise. “Really? Salt of the earth is from the New Testant. It’s a very high complint, it ans soone’s exceptional, a true standout.”
Anne nodded with aning. “Exactly. You three truly deserve that praise.”
Ron bead with a goofy grin. Harry looked quietly pleased. Hermione’s face lit up with joy. Clearly, none of them had expected Anne to hold them in such high regard.
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A/N: Black’s wanted poster isn’t in the original book. It was sothing Rowling explained later, and I found it interesting, so I added it into the story, just polished it a bit to make the aning clearer.
Also, a reminder! Anne’s perspective is different from Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Fanny. They each have their own thoughts. Anne knows how things will turn out, she knows everyone’s true nature, but she’s keeping it to herself. That dynamic will last a long ti!
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