Harry Potter 03 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

back way,’ said Hagrid.
    They followed him to the door into his back garden. Harry felt strangely unreal, and even more so when he saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid’s pumpkin patch. Buckbeak seemed to know something was happening. He turned his sharp head from side to side, and pawed the ground nervously.
    ‘It’s OK, Beaky,’ said Hagrid softly. ‘It’s OK …’ He turned to Harry, Ron and Hermione. ‘Go on,’ he said. ‘Get goin’.’
    But they didn’t move.
    ‘Hagrid, we can’t –’
    ‘We’ll tell them what really happened –’
    ‘They can’t kill him –’
    ‘Go!’ said Hagrid fiercely. ‘It’s bad enough without you lot in trouble an’ all!’
    They had no choice. As Hermione threw the Cloak over Harry and Ron, they heard voices at the front of the cabin. Hagrid looked at the place where they had just vanished from sight.
    ‘Go quick,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Don’ listen …’
    And he strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at the front door.
    Slowly, in a kind of horrified trance, Harry, Ron and Hermione set off silently around Hagrid’s house. As they reached the other side, the front door closed with a sharp snap.
    ‘Please, let’s hurry,’ Hermione whispered. ‘I can’t stand it, I can’t bear it …’
    They started up the sloping lawn towards the castle. The sun was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purple-tinged grey, but to the west there was a ruby-red glow.
    Ron stopped dead.
    ‘Oh, please, Ron,’ Hermione began.
    ‘It’s Scabbers – he won’t – stay put –’
    Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his teeth into Ron’s hand.
    ‘Scabbers, it’s me, you idiot, it’s Ron,’ Ron hissed.
    They heard a door open behind them and men’s voices.
    ‘Oh Ron, please let’s move, they’re going to do it!’ Hermione breathed.
    ‘OK – Scabbers, stay put –’
    They walked forwards; Harry, like Hermione, was trying not to listen to the rumble of voices behind them. Ron stopped again.
    ‘I can’t hold him – Scabbers, shut up, everyone’ll hear us –’
    The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid’s garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence and then, without warning, the unmistakeable swish and thud of an axe.
    Hermione swayed on the spot.
    ‘They did it!’ she whispered to Harry. ‘I d-don’t believe it – they did it!’

 
     
– CHAPTER SEVENTEEN –
     
Cat, Rat and Dog
    Harry’s mind had gone blank with shock. The three of them stood transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds. Then, behind them, they heard a wild howling.
    ‘Hagrid,’ Harry muttered. Without thinking about what he was doing, he made to turn back, but both Ron and Hermione seized his arms.
    ‘We can’t,’ said Ron, who was paper white. ‘He’ll be in worse trouble if they know we’ve been to see him …’
    Hermione’s breathing was shallow and uneven.
    ‘How – could – they?’ she choked. ‘How could they? ’
    ‘Come on,’ said Ron, whose teeth seemed to be chattering.
    They set off back towards the castle, walking slowly to keep themselves hidden under the Cloak. Light was fading fast now. By the time they reached open ground, darkness was settling like a spell around them.
    ‘Scabbers, keep still,’ Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. ‘What’s the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still – OUCH! He bit me!’
    ‘Ron, be quiet!’ Hermione whispered urgently. ‘Fudge’ll be out here in a minute –’
    ‘He won’t – stay – put –’
    Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying to break free of Ron’s grip.
    ‘What’s the matter with him?’
    But Harry had just seen – slinking towards them, his body low to the ground, wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness – Crookshanks. Whether he could see them, or was following the sound of Scabbers’s squeaks, Harry couldn’t tell.
    ‘Crookshanks!’ Hermione moaned. ‘No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!’
    But the cat was getting nearer –
    ‘Scabbers – NO!’
    Too late – the rat had slipped