They got up to the top of the hill just as Hagrid, Dumbledore, Fudge and the executioner left the hut.

The five of them stood in a line, all of them watching with grave faces. Tears were springing to Hermione's eyes. Cassia wasn't so far away.

As Buckbeak was held down, the executioner raised his axe up, above his head.

This isn't fair, Cassia recited in her head, shaking it profusely and biting her lip, trying furiously to stop the tears coming. This isn't fucking fair.

And it wasn't.

It wasn't fair that her brother had done this to an innocent creature.

It wasn't fair that her so-called father had a problem with Hagrid, and so took any opportunity to destroy him.

It wasn't fair that she was stuck in the middle, floating between being seen as a good girl or a traitor.

Wasn't fair, wasn't fair, wasn't fair.

THUMP.

She saw the axe go down.

But her eyes were too blurred with tears to see the aftermath.

Softly sobbing, she grabbed the first hand she came to, believing it to be Poppy's, and squeezed it tightly. She wiped her tears away quickly after that, cursing the non waterproof mascara she was wearing.

She hadn't felt the eyes on her.

Turning, she saw that it was in fact not Poppy's hand she had grabbed. Her best friend was on her other side.

No, the hand she was holding belonged to Harry Potter.

Oh fucking hell-

She let go quickly, turning and refusing eye contact with Harry, not letting him speak to her, even when he started. "Cassia-"

He wasn't going to see her like this, all broken and torn. She wasn't going to let him in. He wasn't going to see who she really was, or how fucked up that made her. He was not. Getting. In.

"Scabbers!"

In a flash, the sombre mood died, and everyone turned to Ron.

"He bit me!"

He was referring to the rat, which had just wormed his way out of his arms and scuttled off.

"Scabbers!" Ron said hurriedly, looking all around before finally seeing his pet, crawling along the ridge away from them, pace fast.

Ron wasted no time in running after him.

"Ron?!" Hermione shouted after him. "Ron!"

"Scabbers!"

As Ron chased his rat, the others started to chase him, Cassia and Harry at the fore.

"Ron!"

"Scabbers, come back!"

"Ron, get your ass back here-"

"Ron, wait a seco-"

They ran over the ridge and into the grounds, Harry stopping abruptly as he saw his best friend pounce upon his rat, grabbing him and shouting. "Scabbers! You bit me!"

"Ow!" Cassia snapped as she almost ran into the boy, coming to a stop. "That fucking hurt, Potter-"

"Shut up!" Harry shouted loudly over her.

"Harry, Cassia!" Hermione sounded worried as she and Poppy appeared behind them. "You do realise what tree this is?"

They realised a second later.

"Oh, shit," Cassia muttered.

It was the Whomping Willow.

The same tree that had broken Ron's wand last year, and Cassia's broom a few months ago.

And Ron was right underneath it.

"RON!" Harry roared. "RUN!"

But, as Ron looked up, he didn't seem scared of the tree.

He was looking, pointing, in fact, at a point just past the four of them, his face contorted in fear.

"Harry, everyone, RUN!" He shouted loudly, causing them all to look behind them.

And there it was, bearing it's teeth and growling. A massive, shaggy black dog.

The-

"It's the grim!"

But before they could run, or jump, or dive, the dog acted. He growled a sound lower than Cassia had ever heard before running full pelt straight at them.

Poppy screamed. Cassia braced, but the blow didn't come. The dog jumped right over them, heading straight for- for Ron?

"Aaaarrgghh!" The boy shouted, as the dog grabbed him by the leg and began to drag him towards the Whomping Willow.

"What the fuck?" Cassia shouted.

"Harry!" Ron wailed. "Help!"

"Ron! Ron, wait!" Harry told him as the four of them finally started running towards the boy, trying to stop him from being taken- well, wherever he was being taken.

As the dog dragged him further towards the tree trunk, Harry dived to the ground, reaching his hands out for Ron but not managing to grab him-

"Aaaaarrrrggghhhh!"

"Wha-?" Cassia was speechless.

The dog had just taken Ron into a tunnel in the ground, one the Whomping Willow was planted right over.

"Ron!"

"RON!"

As Hermione helped Harry up and Cassia put an arm round Poppy, all four of them reconvened at the entrance to the tunnel.

"Urgh!"

Well, until the Whomping Willow sent a branch round to whack them backwards.

"Oh, you fucking piece of shit!" Cassia cursed as she hit the ground, most of the air having been knocked out her lungs.

"Not helping, Cassia," Hermione said flatly, the four of them standing up again to look at the tree, which seemed to have been brought to life, whirling and twisting in all different ways.

"AAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHH!"

Ron's yell of pure terror, however, seemed to bring them to life.

"Come on!" Harry called, starting to run again.

"Are you crazy, Potter?!" Cassia yelled. "You're gonna get us killed!"

But she and Poppy were there when they ran back to the tree.

It was hard work. They had to avoid all the branches getting slammed on the ground, trying to knock them down, and all the ones swinging round to catch them in their stomachs again.

Not before long, their luck started to wain.

"Duck!" Hermione shouted at Harry as they dodged another swinging branch.

Potter didn't, however, and was thrown to the side by it, rolling and landing a few metres away.

Then Cassia and Hermione were forced to jump over a branch approaching their feet, which they did, but ungracefully.

Poppy, however, wasn't so lucky.

She tried to jump it but was too low, getting knocked onto her back with a scream.

"POPPY!" Cassia yelled in concern, looking helplessly her best friend lying on the ground.

Poppy, meanwhile, just yelled back. "Cass, watch out!"

She hadn't been.

And that was probably why a branch hit her square in the stomach, not only winding her but also picking her up.

Fuck, fuck, fuck-

"CASSIA!"

She wasn't sure who was screaming her name as she flew through the air, so disorientated, her head spinning and ears ringing.

"Urgh!" She grunted loudly as she was dragged through the leaves and branches, still holding on to the branch that was flying her around for dear life. "Urgh- argh- fuck-"

"CASSIA!" Poppy's voice suddenly became clear to her as she heard it. Looking around, she saw her friend was still on the ground, but back up on her feet, Harry next to her on his. She couldn't see Hermione. "Cass- when you're above the hole, drop into it!"

"Wha-?" Cassia's head was too dazed to understand any of this.

"NOW! DROP NOW! Let go!"

And so Cassia did the only logical thing.

What she was told.

The drop didn't hurt.

But the landing fucking did.

"Ow!" She cried as she did, wondering if there was any air left in her lungs.

However, as she took a moment to check her surroundings, she realised that the plan Poppy and Harry had had been very successful indeed.

She was in the tunnel.

Oh, hell yes-

"Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggggggggghhhhh!'

"OUCH!"

With a huge yell and much surprise, Harry Potter was thrown down the tunnel (by Hermione, who was on another flying branch). The only problem was, he had been thrown right on top of Cassia.

"Ow- get off, Potter!" The blonde girl complained as Harry quickly shifted, getting off her. Once they were both standing (Harry slightly hunched), she started on him again. "You know, you could've given me some sort of warning-"

"Cassiaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

With another loud cry, Poppy was thrown into the tunnel, coughing and spluttering.

"C- Cass-" she started, as Cassia grabbed her hand and helped her up.

"Sorry, girl," she murmured to her once she was up, hugging her best friend close. "I shouldn't've brought us into this."

"It's fine," Poppy said, giving Cassia a reassuring smile. "Quite fun, actually."

"Aaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh!"

With one final yell, Hermione flew down the tunnel and was helped up by Cassia, Poppy and Harry.

"Sorry," she told them as they dusted themselves off. "That was my stupid idea."

"It wasn't stupid," Cassia told her. "We're here, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but," Poppy frowned. "Where exactly is here?"

"I have a hunch," Harry voiced. "I just really hope I'm wrong."

Cassia scoffed. "And on that cheery note, let's move along."

❦︎❦︎❦︎

The tunnel came to an end soon enough, leading into a- a building?

It was wrecked. The curtains were slashed, the furniture toppled over and the windows were covered in a thick layer of dirt and grease, meaning the room was dark and dank and unwelcoming.

Cassia just knew it.

"We're in the Shrieking Shack, aren't we?"

Harry Potter's eyes were still as green as they were outside when they looked into her's.

"Yes," he nodded. "Come on."

Slowly, they headed up the threadbare, creaky staircase, suddenly hearing Ron shout and doubling the pace.

When they got to the top, only one room was open. It was a bedroom, with a piano inside and a dusty, dirty four poster, and on one of the stools was-

"Ron!"

All four of them dashed across the room almost in sync, reaching the boy, who was holding out his ankle, bite marks and blood all over it.

"Ron, you're okay!" Hermione breathed.

"The dog, where is it?" Harry demanded.

"Oh yeah, Potter, your best friend is okay and all you're asking about is a stupid d-"

"Harry, it's a trap, he's the dog, he's an animagus!"

Cassia's biting remark was cut off by Ron's terrified cry as he pointed, again, to a spot behind them.

Cassia didn't want to turn round.

But she did. She and Harry and Hermione and Poppy.

And behind them, across a patch of prints on the floor which displayed dog print turning into foot, was Sirius Black.

He was even scarier than the papers had shown him. Nine months on the run hadn't done him well. His hair was even more matted, his cheeks even more sunken, his face even more pale, and his clothes even more torn.

Hermione wasted no time in stepping in front of Harry.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!"

"No. Only one will die tonight," Black's voice was hoarse and low. Dangerous.

"And it'll be YOU!"

Cassia was confused.

Because why the fuck would Harry Potter launch himself at an escaped prisoner who had just proclaimed what was presumably his death?

Harry tackled Black over, his hands at his neck, and once they were on the ground he got his wand out, pointing it right in his face.

Black only laughed. "Are you going to kill me, Harry-?"

"Expelliarmus!"

Remus Lupin was standing in the door, his face wild, his cheeks sunken and his eyes slightly bloodshot.

Relief coursed through Cassia.

Then she frowned.

Because if he was on their side...

Then why had he disarmed Harry?