It was another slow day in Divination.

Trelawney had instructed the class to gaze into their crystal balls to find their future. (Y/N) naturally thought the task was incredibly dull. Instead, she asked Dean if he would help her make a card for Hagrid. Buckbeak was still set to be executed later that day, despite the letters (Y/N)'d written to beg Lucius to remove all charges. Not to anyone's surprise, her letters were ignored, save for one – to which Lucius told (Y/N) to let it go because it's only a Hippogriff and she shouldn't bother worrying about something so stupid. She couldn't bring herself to write another letter after that.

Still, she wanted to help the best she could. And if she couldn't stop Buckbeak from being killed, the least she could do was try and comfort Hagrid.

Dean thought it was a brilliant idea and brought out a fresh piece of parchment at once to begin his work.

"D'you think you can try and draw Hagrid, too?" she asked, peering over the crystal ball to watch him draw.

"Didn't you say you needed it by tonight?" said Dean, exasperated.

"Yeah." She leaned back in her chair. "But you're quick at drawing. And I think it'd be good if they were together on it. Hagrid would like it. And you know how upset he's been lately."

In their last class with Hagrid, they learned nothing. He could barely get a word out through all his sniffles. He was heartbroken.

It was all it took to convince Dean. "Alright," he said. "Just don't add anything else or I won't be able to finish it in time."

It was not fifteen minutes later that he was making the last touches to his sketch. Though, he told her he wouldn't be able to color anything in until after Care of Magical Creatures; he'd left his colored pencils in his dormitory.

It may have been for the best anyway, for Trelawney stepped up to their table just as Dean safely tucked the drawing into his bag. Her big eyes peered at the pair of them expectantly and she motioned her thin hands toward the crystal ball in the center of the table.

"Well," said Trelawney dreamily. "What lies in the future ahead?"

(Y/N) looked at the crystal ball and saw nothing but a swirl of white. "Well, it's sort of foggy," she said. Dean snickered. Trelawney nodded encouragingly.

"Go on," she urged.

She wished she hadn't said anything. Still, (Y/N) leaned forward and squinted her eyes so she'd think she was looking hard. Trelawney seemed pleased.

"I can't be sure," (Y/N) began. "Well, it kind of looks like..." She tried to remember any sort of bad omen they'd come across before, but all she could think of was the Grim, and she knew better than to say she saw that. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "An hourglass!"

"An hourglass?" Trelawney nearly choked. Her eyes had gotten larger than usual.

(Y/N) nodded. "I think so. Why?"

"Oh, my dear child..." She clutched her bead necklaces and gazed at (Y/N) with watery eyes. "An hourglass is an unlucky omen indeed. You are in danger!"

"Oh no!" (Y/N) tried not to smile. "What sort of danger?"

Professor Trelawney reached out to touch (Y/N)'s hand but pulled away almost immediately with a gasp. Harry, Hermione, and Ron turned around from the next table over looking quite startled.

"Oh, grave danger!" she cried. (Y/N) saw Hermione roll her eyes. "If I may say, Miss (L/N), I believe it is best that you be wary! Keep close to professors and prefects tonight, dear."

(Y/N) nodded vigorously. "Of course, Professor,"

Trelawney gave (Y/N) a lingering, sad look. Then she pressed her lips together in a thin line and placed a comforting hand to her shoulder before wincing. She moved on to her next table solemnly, muttering something about rotten luck.

Dean leaned across the table and dropped his voice to a quiet whisper. "Did you really see an hourglass?" he asked when Trelawney was far enough away.

"No," (Y/N) assured him, relaxing in her chair once again. "Fred just told me she really likes it if you say you'll be unlucky."

***

Dean was able to give (Y/N) the finished drawing at dinner, which she thought was quite lucky, despite the hourglass she'd pretended to see. She promptly passed it around the table, asking her friends to write something nice to cheer Hagrid up. By the time she finished her meal, the card was filled with condolences and comfort.

After dinner, she, Harry, Hermione, and Ron set off to Hagrid's, knowing he could use the company.

"I can't believe they're going to kill Buckbeak," said Hermione. "It's just too horrible!"

"It just got worse," groaned Ron, pointing ahead.

To (Y/N)'s dismay, Draco and his idiot friends stood at the top of the hill. He'd brought a pair of binoculars and was peering down at Hagrid's hut with a wicked grin.

"Father says I can keep the hippogriff's head," he boasted. "I think I'll donate it to the Gryffindor common room; give (Y/N) a little surprise."

"I could kill him," (Y/N) said as his friends laughed. "I swear I could."

Hermione stomped over to him without a word, and her three friends were quick to follow.

Draco turned. "Huh, look who it is! Come to see the show?"

(Y/N) thought she might've started hitting him right then if Hermione hadn't beat her to it. She whipped out her wand and shoved it dangerously close to Draco's face.

"You!" she seethed. "You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!"

Draco backed up as far as he could go, his once confident demeanor gone in an instant and replaced with watery eyes and a pleading look. (Y/N) wished she had a camera; she'd donate the picture to the Slytherin common room; give him a little surprise.

But Ron must've been feeling particularly sensible that day because he said, "Hermione, no! He's not worth it."

And after a long moment, Hermione listened to him. She lowered her wand and started to walk away. Just when (Y/N) thought Draco would get off free, Hermione wheeled around and punched him straight in the face.

(Y/N) and Harry burst out laughing at once, but Ron was too stunned. He watched slack-jawed as Draco nearly crumpled to the ground. "Malfoy, are you okay?" Crabbe wailed, hoisting him to his feet. Draco gave no response but quickly tore back towards the castle, and his goons dutifully followed.

Hermione met (Y/N)'s eyes with a bright grin. "That felt good!"

"Not good," said Ron. "Brilliant!"

Thunder rolled across the sky before (Y/N) could say anything, and the four of them hurried the rest of the way to Hagrid's so they wouldn't be caught in the rain.

When he opened the door, he was already teary-eyed and red in the face. He beckoned them in from the cold somberly.

"We made you a card, Hagrid," (Y/N) tried once she was inside. "Everyone's signed it."

All it took was one glance at the card for poor Hagrid to burst into tears. He wrapped (Y/N) in a tight embrace that would've tackled her to the ground if it weren't for Harry, Hermione, and Ron catching her.

"Thank you! This – this is–!"

"It was nothing!" she quickly promised.

"Hagrid, how about some tea?" managed Hermione.

With a great sniff and a wipe at his eyes, Hagrid let up and turned towards the kettle. "Right," he said, carefully placing the card on the fireplace mantle. "Right. Four cups like usual?"

They drank in somber silence. (Y/N) tried to think of something to say, but nothing felt right. Not when Hagrid was sniffling by the window and staring at Buckbeak laying in the yard.

"Oh, look at him. Loves the smell of trees when the wind blows through 'em!"

"Why don't we just set him free?" asked Harry.

"Ah, they'd know it was me, and then Dumbledore would get into trouble..." He tucked his hands into his pockets. "He's coming down, you know, Dumbledore. Says he wants to be with me when they..." He took in a breath. "When it happens... Great man, Dumbledore. Great man."

"We'll stay with you, too, Hagrid," said Hermione.

"You will not!" He insisted. "You think I want you seein' something like that? No, you just drink your tea and be off." He tried his best to smile. "Oh! Before you do – Ron,"

He opened up a tin container on the counter and pulled out a rat.

Ron lit up at once. "Scabbers! You're alive!"

"Want to keep a closer eye on your pets, Ron."

Hermione sat up straighter. "I think that means you owe someone an apology."

"Right." Ron nodded thoughtfully. "Next time I see Crookshanks, I'll let him know."

"I meant me!"

There was a sudden crash and an urn of sand spilled all over the table and into (Y/N)'s tea. She'd nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Blimey!" exclaimed Hagrid. "What was that?"

Hermione reached out for the rock that came flying through the window, just as Harry shouted, "Ow!"

He was looking out the window by the time (Y/N) glanced over.

"Hagrid!" he said, waving him over.

He went to his side. "Oh, crikey..."

"What is it?" asked (Y/N), getting to her feet.

"Dumbledore's here," answered Harry. "With Fudge and the executioner."

It felt as though she'd swallowed lead.

"It's late; it's nearly dark. You shouldn't be here. If someone sees you outside the castle this time of night, you'll be in trouble – big trouble. Particularly you, Harry!" Hagrid hurried to the back of his hut just as there were three knocks at the door. "Be with you in a moment!" He called, throwing a blanket over a creature nestled in the corner. He waved the four students towards the back door. "Quick, quick!"

They made for the exit, but Harry stopped in the doorway, and (Y/N) stopped to see just what he was doing.

"Hagrid," he said. "It'll be fine. It'll be okay," he promised. He sounded so sure, (Y/N) almost believed him.

Hagrid looked grateful, but he still shooed them outside. "Go on, go on!"

And (Y/N) grabbed Harry to pull him along – they were running out of time.

At the first chance they got, the four students ran down the steps behind the large pumpkins in Hagrid's yard. (Y/N) could hear Fudge getting the formalities over with through the open window. Buckbeak would be executed at sundown. (Y/N) peered at the hillside; it would be any minute, now.

"There has to be something we can do," she insisted. "Buckbeak's innocent!"

"So you reckon we storm in there and tell Fudge he's making the wrong decision?" Ron said.

If (Y/N) hadn't known how sure he was of his ideas, she might have done just that. The worst she'd get was detention – that was nothing if it meant Buckbeak would be spared.

Before she could think about it too long, there was a loud snap behind them. Hermione whipped around the stare at the forest's edge.

"What?" Harry asked.

Hermione frowned. "I thought I just saw... oh, never mind."

"Let's go!" Ron said.

So they left. (Y/N) spared one glance over her shoulder at Buckbeak, who was watching them go. He chirped his final farewell, and she felt her eyes sting.

They stopped at the top of the hill, just in time to see the executioner raise his sharpened axe. (Y/N) turned away, but she could still hear the sickening slice before the silence.

A moment later, she felt a hand against her arm. She faced Harry, eyes full of tears, and said the only thing she could.

"I tried to stop him, Harry." Her throat ached from trying not to cry. "I swear I tried–"

"I know," he said solemnly, pulling her in for a warm hug.

She felt stupid for crying – Lucius had told her it was stupid. But then, she thought he'd been nothing but cruel. She wasn't sure which had upset her more.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Ron. Everyone turned toward him to see what was the matter. He was cradling his finger in his other hand. "He bit me! Scabbers!" And then, he took off after his rat.

"Ron?" Hermione called. "Ron?"

And when that didn't work, the three of them chased after him. He ignored Harry calling after him to "Wait!" and (Y/N) shouting at him to "At least slow down!" They finally caught up to him when he caught Scabbers right underneath –

"That bloody tree," (Y/N) grumbled.

Ron had decided to rest right underneath the whomping willow, which seemed to be waking up from a nap. It shook its burly branches and slowly started inching towards him.

"Ron, run!" Harry shouted.

He looked up, but at once his expression contorted into one of great horror. "No, you run!" He shouted, raising a trembling finger. "It's the Grim!"

(Y/N) wheeled around to see a mangy black dog bearing its sharp canines. She didn't even have time to scream before it pounced straight over them and sunk its teeth into Ron's ankle. He wailed as the Grim dragged him along the grass, making futile attempts to latch onto the ground.

"Harry!" He cried, digging his nails into the dirt. "Help, Harry!"

They ran as fast as they could, and at the very last second Harry dove for Ron's hand. He missed it just by an inch, and the Grim pulled Ron underneath the Whomping Willow.

(Y/N) didn't have time to think. She went in straight after him just as Harry shouted, "Don't!"

She landed alone on the hard ground. She braced herself for the impact of someone falling after her, but it didn't come. Carefully, and aching all over, (Y/N) brought herself to sit up.

"Hello?" she called.

Ron answered with a desperate cry of her name somewhere that sounded far away. She heard nothing from Harry or Hermione, and remembered it was the Whomping Willow she'd dove under. It was likely they wouldn't be following.

The thought made her blood run cold.

"Help, (Y/N)!" Ron shouted.

She fumbled for her wand and followed after his voice, trying very hard not to think about how she never had to deal with something like this on her own before. Her mind was racing with questions. Was that really the Grim? What did it want with poor Ron? And if it was the Grim, could that mean that Harry and Hermione's silence meant that they were...

She shook her head. There was no time to think like that.

(Y/N) started down the dark tunnel, alone.