Chapter 274 Moonlit Raid

"Come on, Buckbeak, here is your favorite ferret meat!"

Hermione and Harry each took some ferrets, and then kept shaking them at Buckbeak, and their bodies continued to retreat into the woods.

"Where did that beast go?" McNeil asked in a cold voice. "Outside...outside." Hagrid said hoarsely. MacNeil's face appeared in Hagrid's window, glaring out at Buckbeak while Harry hid his head. Then they heard Fudge's voice. "We... oh... have to read you the official announcement about the execution, Hagrid. I'll read it quickly. Then you and MacNeil will sign it. MacNeil, you should listen too, this is program."

"Hurry up, Buckbeak, be obedient..." Fan Lin said anxiously. Those damn crows flew back again. They kept hovering in the sky, seeming to be waiting for the arrival of delicious food. As long as the executioner's Once the ax fell, they would pounce on Buckbeak's body and gnaw on it without hesitation.

"I'm here." Fudge's voice sounded again, and Buckbeak had already eaten the first ferret. "The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures has decided that Buckbeak the Hippogriff, hereafter referred to as Convicted The person shall be executed at sunset on June 6th..."

"Hurry up, Buckbeak..." Hermione urged anxiously. The girl kept shaking the food in her hands, but Buckbeak did not move forward. He stood there, as if intending to digest it.

"...the beheading was carried out by Walton McNeil, the executioner appointed by the committee... "Come, Buckbeak," Vanlin murmured, "come, we're going to help you. Quietly...quietly..."

"...As a witness. Hagrid, you sign here..." Fan Lin used all his weight to pull the rope, but Buckbeak had already stood firmly on his front feet.

"Okay, let's get this done." came the high-pitched voice of the committee member from Hagrid's hut. "Hagrid, it might be better if you stay in the house and don't come out..."

"No, I...I want to be with it...I don't want it to be alone..." Footsteps echoed in the hut. "Buckbeak, come on!" Harry hissed.

Fanlin tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. Buckbeak began to move again, flapping his wings in annoyance. They were still ten feet from the Forbidden Forest, fully within sight of the back door of Hagrid's hut. "Please wait a moment, MacNeill," came Dumbledore's voice, "You also want to sign." The footsteps stopped.

Fanlin pulled the rope hard. Buckbeak's beak snapped and he walked faster.

"Hurry up, Buckbeak, dear, be obedient..." Hermione's face turned pale, her eyes constantly wandering between Buckbeak and Hagrid's cabin.

However, everything in the house was ready at this time. The door of the wooden house was half opened, and Dumbledore's figure squeezed out of Hagrid's wooden house.

The figures of the three people suddenly froze in place. They were less than ten feet away from the Forbidden Forest...

"Oh, Minister, look over there..." Dumbledore turned his back to them and pointed at Hogwarts Castle. Under the sunlight, Hogwarts Castle exuded a strange beauty. .

"Oh, it's really shocking..." Fudge complimented. No one behind him could get out of the doorway of his wooden house.

"Quick, Buckbeak..." Fan Lin did not hesitate. He pulled the rope harder, and Buckbeak started to trot reluctantly. Finally, Buckbeak entered the forbidden area before Dumbledore finished his nonsense. Forest, bypassing a few tree trunks, the darkness of the Forbidden Forest perfectly covered Buckbeak's figure.

Finally, Hagrid's figure squeezed out, and the door of the wooden house bounced to the side with a bang. Verlin, Hermione, Harry, and Buckbeak stood listening; even the hippogriff seemed to be listening nervously.

Silence...and then—"Where did it go?" came the high-pitched voice of the committee member. "Where did the beast go?"

"It was originally tied here!" the executioner said angrily, "I just saw it! It was right here!"

"How strange," said Dumbledore, with amusement in his voice. There was a rustle, then the dull thud of an ax being swung. The executioner seemed to vent his anger by sinking his ax into the giant pumpkins. Then there was a howl, and this time they could hear Hagrid's words as he sobbed. "It's gone! It's gone! God bless it, it's gone! It must have broken free on its own! Piccolo, how smart you are!"

Buckbeak began to break free from the rope and return to Hagrid. The three of them grabbed the rope harder and stood as firm on their heels as possible to stop Buckbeak.

"Someone has untied the rope!" the executioner roared, "We should search the place and the woods..."

"McNeil, if Buckbeak was indeed stolen, do you really think the thief would have taken it away on foot?" Dumbledore said, still sounding amused. "Search the sky, if you will... Hagrid. I'd like a cup of tea, or a tall glass of brandy."

"Of course, Professor," Hagrid said, his voice sounding happy and weak, "Come in, come in..."

Fanlin, Hermione and Harry listened carefully. They heard the footsteps, the executioner's low curse, the slam of the door, and then all was silent again.

"What now?" Harry whispered, looking around.

"We have to hide here," Hermione said, looking frightened, "We need to wait until they return to the castle. Then, when it's safe, we can release Buckbeak to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another four hours... Oh, this will be difficult..."

"Maybe we can take Buckbeak alone..." Vanlin said, "Just to be safe, but I don't think we can't catch Peter..."

"Okay..." Hermione nodded in agreement, "I hope Buckbeak is obedient enough, but I hope I don't need it..."

Hermione gently stroked Buckbeak's head with her hand, the hippogriff rubbed Hermione, and then took the dead ferret hanging in Hermione's hand in one bite.

"Oh, damn..." Vanlin said a little distressed, "Can't Buckbeak change his food..."

"What's wrong?" Hermione looked at Vanlin a little confused.

"His Animagus is a white ferret, very similar to the one in your hand, Hermione." Harry said blankly, he watched Buckbeak chewing the ferret in his mouth, Vanlin's mouth twitched a little.

"Sorry..." Hermione said with an awkward look, her hand had been stretched out, and then it froze in mid-air.

"It's okay..." Vanlin grinned, thousands of words finally converged into two words, although he still felt awkward in his heart...

"We have to go," Vanlin thought hard, he had to change the subject, "We must be able to see the Whomping Willow, otherwise we don't know how far things have developed."

"Okay," Hermione nodded, she said quickly, and then Hermione held Buckbeak's rope tighter, "But we must not, Harry, remember..."

They moved along the edge of the woods, the dusk became thicker and thicker, and finally they hid behind a clump of trees, where they could see the willow.

They waited for about a few minutes, and from a distance, they could still see their past selves walking towards the Whomping Willow under Vanlin's leadership.

"You didn't do it on purpose, Vanlin?" Harry asked suddenly, he saw Ron stop not far from the Whomping Willow, that was Peter Pettigrew realizing something was wrong.

"In fact, it's like this..." said Fan Lin, he looked at the original them intently, "I had communicated with Sirius in advance. In Hogsmeade, Hermione and I met him. He attacked us and was subdued by me."

"Okay... okay..." Harry said, it was hard for him to accept the fact that Fan Lin could defeat an adult wizard, but the situation in front of him did not allow him to think too much, he saw Ron's little move.

Ron stopped, his left hand was in the pocket with Peter, and the other hand seemed to pull out his wand.

"You go over!" Hermione was so nervous that she grabbed Fan Lin's arm with her hand, "Peter Pettigrew controlled Ron to attack you..."

"Don't be nervous, there is Sirius, and I don't think Ron can control it." Fan Lin said confidently.

A few hours ago, he seemed to walk towards Ron without any defense. He glanced at Sirius' figure with his peripheral vision. He crawled on the grass and quickly went around behind Ron.

"That's it!" Harry held his breath, he saw it too, he was as nervous as Sirius.

Then, a black dog pounced from behind Ron, just like before, Sirius subdued Ron before he drew his wand.

"That's Sirius!" Harry said. "It looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" Harry said, he watched the dog drag Ron under the tree. "Wow - look, I just got hit by that tree - you too - this is weird..." The Whomping Willow was creaking and whipping with its lower branches; they could see themselves rushing back and forth, trying to get close to the trunk. Then the tree was motionless.

"By the way, the Whomping Willow didn't attack us when we came out..."

"That was when Vanlin and I came out in advance to press the knot on the Whomping Willow, Sirius said so!" Hermione said.

"Sorry, I forgot!" Harry scratched his head a little embarrassedly, he felt that he shouldn't ask such a stupid question.

However, in the second year, they will know the weakness of the Whomping Willow, so that Mr. Weasley's car will not be destroyed by the Whomping Willow. (To be continued)