“What?!”

“You're joking!” Harry said.

“I wish I was...” Hermione said sadly. “He sent this...”

She held out the piece of parchment. Megan unrolled it and held it out so Ron and Harry could read over her shoulder. It was covered in smudges where Hagrid’s tears had fallen on the letter.

Dear Hermione.

Lost appeal. I can bring him back to school. Date to be fixed. Thanks for your help. Won’t forget it.

Hagrid.

“They can’t do this!” Megan said in outrage.

“Malfoy scared the committee into it…” Hermione said, wiping her eyes. “You know what he’s like…”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Harry asked.

“Well, I’ll look into it, but I can’t see much…” Hermione answered sadly.

“No you won’t, Hermione. Not alone. We’ll help.” Ron said.

Hermione looked at him and threw her arms around him. And Megan took it as a good sign that Ron's arms wrapped around Hermione as well. Maybe her attempt from the previous night had proven useful after all.

“I’m really sorry about Scabbers…” Hermione said when she released him.

Ron shuffled his feet.

“Well… he was old…” he said awkwardly. “Not to mention useless. And it's not all bad, when you think of it. Never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl.”

Despite the terrible news about Hagrid, Megan was glad it had at least enabled Ron and Hermione to make up. They'd be stronger together if they were to try anything to stop Buckbeak's execution.

So from that day on, they spent all their free time in the library looking up for something to stop Buckbeak’s sentence. Harry had suggested they ask Cedric for help, but Megan had refused.

“He’s in fifth year.”

 “So?”

“So, he’s got huge exams, this year, and I don’t want him to fail because of us.” Megan said.

“But you don’t mind us failing?” Ron asked.

“We’ll be okay.” Megan said. “And anyway, I don’t think there’s anything more Cedric can do.”

So they’d looked without him. But unfortunately, there was nothing very useful. They half had a mind to ask the teachers for their advice, but didn’t think they’d be taken very seriously. And they would probably say the sentence had been decided and that there was nothing more to be done.

“Still no luck?” Cedric asked over dinner that evening as they joined in the Entrance Hall.

“No…” Megan sighed. “I can’t help but feel I let Hagrid down… If I’d looked into it earlier, maybe…”

“I don’t think it would’ve changed much,” Cedric said heavily. “Like Hermione said, Malfoy scared the committee into the decision. Even with an air tight defense, all he would have to do is threaten the committee, like he did the school board.”

“Or buy them off…” Megan agreed bitterly. “It’s sickening how that kind of people get their way like that…”

 Cedric sighed.

“I know.” He said. “But there are just evil people who stop at nothing to get what they want… How’s Hagrid holding up, have you seen him yet?”

“Not really. I saw him at mealtimes but we haven’t actually spoken. And he looked so miserable, it’s heartbreaking…”

Cedric squeezed her shoulder.

“I know you want to help… but in all honesty, I can’t see any way out of this.”

“I know, and it’s awful. Hagrid loves Buckbeak, he’ll never get over this… Norbert shook him up enough, and he was just sent away.” Megan said. “Buckbeak’s going to be killed right before his eyes!”

Cedric nodded sombrely.

“... We'll just have to grit our teeth, and have faith that he'll be strong enough to get through it.'

But even with Ron and Hermione just about friends again, they still had a problem. With the extremely tight security, the only chances Megan and the others had of talking to Hagrid was during Care of Magical Creatures, a couple of days later. And even then, they had to be careful not to be overheard. They used their next lesson to speak to him. As they had expected, he was terribly upset. He loved just about all creatures and hated the idea of one being killed. And this case was especially unfair because Buckbeak had only reacted defensively after Malfoy had made him feel threatened. Any animal would have reacted the same way. But as Hermione had said, with Malfoy pulling the strings, honest people never got their way.

“S’all my fault…” he said. “I was so worried about Beaky after his sentence I got all nervous and kept droppin’ me notes… forgettin’ those dates you found me, Hermione…”

“No, Hagrid!” Megan said fiercely. “If anyone’s at fault, we are. We should have helped you better…”

“Nah, wouldn’a made any difference…” Hagrid said sadly. “The committee’s all in Malfoy’s pocket… I just want to make sure he’s happy… I owe ‘im that…”

He turned away towards his hut, his handkerchief on his nose. Megan and the others watched him sadly.

“Look at him blubber!”

They looked around at Malfoy who was gloating.

“I’ve never seen something as pathetic.” He said. “And he’s meant to be a teacher…”

SLAP!

Megan had been strongly considered slapping him but Hermione, to everyone’s astonishment had got there first.

“Don’t you dare, Malfoy!” she said furiously. “Don’t you dare insult Hagrid!”

“Hermione, don’t!” Megan said quickly pinning her arms with her own and pulling her back. “He’s not worth it.”

She and Malfoy glared at each other. Then, he marched off with his goons as the bell rang. Megan glanced at Hermione.

“Can I let you go, now?” she asked.

“Yes…” she said.

Slowly, Megan released her grip. Then, she and Hermione moved away.

“You had better beat him, Megan…” Hermione said, tears of fury in her eyes. “I can’t stand it if Slytherin win!”

Megan agreed.

“He’s a pathetic Seeker, he’ll never beat me.” Megan promised.

“Yeah, no one can beat our Seeker.” Harry added.

Hermione nodded.

“Come on…” Megan said, her arm around Hermione. “We’re due in Charms…"

They headed up to the castle. But when they were in the classroom, Ron said:

“Where’s Hermione gone?”

Megan looked around.

 “That’s odd, she was right behind me…”

“Maybe she went to the bathroom or something…”

They put it aside for the moment and worked on Cheering Charms. But she didn’t turn up all lesson.

“Hermione’s never missed a lesson! Even when she was half-cat for a month, she insisted on doing her homework and handing it in!”

“I know… I don’t like this… and she’ll flip when she sees she missed Cheering Charms…”

“Could’ve used one, too,” Ron said as they headed to lunch.

But Hermione wasn’t there either. And when she still hadn’t appeared at desert, they began to feel a little worried.

“You don’t think Malfoy did something to her, do you?” Harry asked as they headed up to Gryffindor Tower.

Hermione was there, fast asleep on the table, a large pile of books around her.

“Hermione…?” Megan said gently, touching her shoulder.

Hermione woke up with a start.

“What? What is it? What class do we have next?"

“Divination, but not for another half hour.” Megan said. “Are you okay? What happened, why weren’t you in Charms?”

“Oh, no… I forgot…!”

“But how could you forget, you were right beside us outside the classroom!” Ron said.

“Oh, I was thinking of Malfoy, and I lost track of things… I’d better go apologise to professor Flitwick… I’ll see you in Divination…”

“Hermione…!”

“I’ll catch you later!” Hermione said.

And she hurried out of the room. Megan sighed and decided to go walk her nerves off. She was wandering along the corridors, with no precise destination in mind, when she heard her name. She glanced around.

“Oh, hey, Cedric.”

“I saw Hermione rushing past, is everything okay?”

“… Not exactly…”

She told him about Buckbeak and then moved on to Hermione missing Charms.

 “… She’s gone to apologise to Flitwick… But I’m really getting worried about her, she’s

 Pushing herself too hard… I don’t know how she’ll get through the rest of the year at this rate.”

 “I wonder how she does it… I only have half the subjects she took on and I’m only just managing to keep track of it all…!”

 “You know, I’ve been wondering as well… several times, she was right there with us, and the next second, she was gone! She’d reappear just a few seconds after and give an explanation, but… I don’t know. I wonder if she’s not hiding something.”

 “Like what?”

 “That’s the thing. I have no idea.” Megan said, frowning slightly.

 She glanced down the hallway.

 “I just hope it’s not dangerous.”

Cedric had Herbology, and that was in the opposite direction, so they parted ways, and Megan made her way up to North Tower. She found Ron and Harry a little further ahead, and hurried up to them.

“Have you seen Hermione?”

“Not yet,” Ron said.

She caught up to them a while later, at the foot of the ladder, hastily tying up her hair as she came. She looked both angry and miserable.

“I can’t believe it, I missed Cheering Charms…!” she wailed. “I bet they come up in the exams…”

“It’ll fine,” Megan said. “You ace every test. You worry too much.”

They climbed up the ladder into the circular room. On each table was a crystal ball.

“Good, that means we’ve finished palmistry…” Megan muttered. “I was fed up of seeing her flinch at every glance she had of my hands…”

They sat down.

“I have decided to introduce you to orb gazing a little earlier than planned,” Professor Trelawney said. “for the fates have informed me that the examination will concern the orb and I wish for you to have sufficient practice.”

Hermione snorted.

“Well, really…! “The fates”… who sets the exam? She does!” she whispered irritably.

 Either Trelawney didn’t hear her, or she pretended she hadn’t. Megan glanced at Hermione, only half surprised by her comment. Her friend had never had much patience with Divination, much like Professor McGonagall. Megan herself found it hard to find it interesting ith Trelawney’s huge eyes, shawls and slightly overwhelming perfumes.

“Crystal gazing is a complex and refined art,” professor Trelawney said. “I don’t expect you to see anything on your first attempt… but if we broaden our minds, my dears, I am sure that some of you may see before the end of the class.”

And so they began. Megan was paired up with Hermione.

“Oh, this rubbish is such a waste of time…” Hermione hissed impatiently. “I could be catching up on Cheering Charms!”

“Can anyone see anything, yet?” Harry asked.

“Yeah,” Ron said. “Loads of fog planned for tonight.”

The four of them laughed. Trelawney strode towards them.

“Please, my dears, control yourselves, you are clouding your inner sight!”

She gazed into the ball on the girls’ table. Megan sighed. She had a feeling she knew what was coming up next…

“There is something here…!” Trelawney gasped. “I see it… but what is it…?”

Megan would have bet her wand that it was bad news. And sure enough…

“Oh, my dear, it is plainer than ever before…! The G-”

“Oh, for the love of Merlin, not the bloody Grim again!”

Hermione’s outburst shocked everyone into silence.

“My dear, it is quite clear to me that you are not gifted in Divination.”

“Fine. Then I’m not going to bother any more.”

And with that, she shoved the crystal ball off the table and stormed out.

“You saw it, professor! You said at the start of term that one of us would leave!” Parvati said.

“Some day our Hermione’s having, eh…?” Harry said.

“Yeah…”

Megan watched her disappear, then glanced back in the ball, and wondered if there really was a Grim… she couldn’t see anything. She leaned in closer. And suddenly, she was gone.