Kind Claws, Humans Are No Match for Dragons
Aaron slipped into the area covered by the gold necklace. "Let me make it clear beforehand, I'm not just doing this out of sympathy for anyone."
"I understand, I understand." Hermione smiled easily. Whatever the reason, Aaron's involvement proved that she hadn't misjudged him.
"Um..." Harry looked bewildered and confused, "Can someone explain to me what I'm supposed to do?"
"You'll find out soon enough." Hermione picked up the golden hourglass hanging from the chain and carefully spun it three times.
The entire ward felt like it had been fast-forwarded; everything was rushing backward, blurry colors and figures flashing by, even the light.
When they came to their senses, the night had turned into evening, and Ron had disappeared from the ward.
"What's going on?" Harry looked around at his surroundings, becoming even more confused.
"You can think of it as time travel, or that we've traveled back three hours," Aaron explained with a hint of helplessness.
Although he was also shocked by the effects of the Time-Turner, time was too mysterious, and he had to be careful in the past.
"Are you kidding me?"
Do you think I'm so bored that I'd joke around with you for no reason?
There are many things to be careful about when traveling, the most important of which is to avoid letting others notice that you are from Japan, because this is the easiest way to cause trouble.
Hermione put the Time-Turner away. "7:30? Where are we at 7:30?"
"They should be heading towards Hagrid's Hut right now!"
"Aaron, what about you?"
"I should be at Hagrid's cabin at 7:30."
"Then there's no problem."
"Quickly, it must not be seen."
The three of them ran wildly along the route they remembered, hiding in the Hagrid's Hut to make sure they wouldn't be discovered by their past selves.
"Where did you get this hourglass?" Harry asked curiously. "This is outrageous."
"This is Time-Turner. Professor McGonagall applied for it for a long time before the Ministry of Magic finally approved it."
I was able to complete all my courses this year thanks to it.
Harry nodded, seemingly understanding, then looked at Aaron, "You know? You also take classes with the Time-Turner?"
"No, I am a different method."
To be honest, this is my first time traveling through time.
"Dumbledore wants us to stay until this moment to change what has already happened," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Why does he want us to stay back three hours? It won't help Sirius Black."
"Not just one innocent life." Harry seemed to realize something. "He wants us to save Buckbeak."
"That's unnecessary," Aaron said dismissively.
"We know you don't care whether it lives or dies, but this is not unnecessary," Harry said. "If we save Buckbeak, Sirius Black can ride it away, and they can escape together."
"I know, that's not what I meant." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Keep watching and you'll understand."
The cawing of crows came from afar, and Dumbledore, Fudge, McNeil, and the old members of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures came down the stairs.
At the same time, Hagrid's voice could be heard coming from inside the cabin.
"Hurry up, we can't let them find out you're here, hurry up."
Actually, I stayed because...
"Things are already complicated enough. I can't drag you all into this. Hurry up."
Harry, his two companions, and Aaron, disguised in Invisibility Cloak, carefully made their way away. Aaron, however, appeared remarkably casual and didn't even get noticed by anyone inside the cabin.
"Where is that beast?" McNeil asked coldly.
"Outside, outside," Hagrid said hoarsely.
McNeil looked out the window and saw that Buckbeak was still there, then he pulled his face away.
Fudge's voice came through, "We have to read you the official execution notice, Hagrid."
I'll read it quickly, then you and McNeil will get autographs..."
"The opportunity has come," Harry whispered to the two of them. "You wait here, I'm going to save it."
"There's no need for that," Aaron stopped him.
"Of course I have. I've spoken with Buckbeak, and I'm the most suitable person to go," Harry said, and the next moment a black shadow flashed in his sight.
Abei darted quickly into the pumpkin patch. Its cat-sized body was completely hidden by the pumpkins, and no one in the hut could spot it. If the three of them hadn't been positioned at a slightly higher elevation, they probably wouldn't have seen it either.
Abei walked up to Buckbeak and extended a kind little paw.
A flash of silver light disappeared in an instant, and the rope binding Buckbeak was cut open by the claws without any resistance.
The Hippogriff stood up, looking at the tiny creature radiating absolute pressure in front of it, and dared not make any rash moves for a moment.
Abei looked around, then spread its wings and flew away, one claw holding the rope around Buckbeak's neck, the other pointing towards the Forbidden Forest.
Buckbeak didn't dare disobey Abei and obediently flew behind Abei.
Harry and Hermione were dumbfounded when they saw this.
They thought this would be a very troublesome matter, but to their surprise, they didn't even have to lift a finger.
The entire process was not only risk-free, but also unexpectedly dramatic.
"This, this, this..." Harry struggled to find the words to say for a long time but couldn't come up with anything.
"You've been planning to have Abei save it all along?" Hermione looked at Aaron with a complicated expression. "But why didn't you tell us?"
"Why should I tell you?" Aaron retorted. "You've looked up a lot of cases for this one. Wouldn't telling you this dampen your enthusiasm?"
To be honest, I still had a sliver of hope for you, but I didn't expect you to lose the case.
Draco is my friend, Buckbeak hurt him, so I have no reason to save him.
But Hagrid looked so pathetic crying, so to protect his fragile heart, I had no other choice but to resort to this tactic.
Rescuing the Hippogriff right under their noses, even if they find out, they can't blame Hagrid; at most, it'll be seen as Buckbeak escaping.
Hearing this, Hermione felt inexplicably ashamed. She had previously complained that Aaron was heartless, but now she only felt a stinging pain in her cheek.
A few minutes later, Hagrid and his companions slowly walked out of the house.
But the next moment they were all dumbfounded. Buckbeak had disappeared, leaving only an empty pumpkin patch.
"Where is it?" Fudge asked blankly. "I just saw it, and then it disappeared. It's so strange."
"Oh no, Dumbledore, it's obvious someone let it go," the old committee member whispered.
"Bick," Hagrid murmured, but a hint of smugness flickered across his lips.
"Hagrid, Buckbeak..."
Just as Fudge was about to ask if it was related to him, Dumbledore interrupted, "The minister didn't say it was related to you, Hagrid."
"How could it be you? You've been with us the whole time."
"Fine!" Fudge said helplessly. "Then we'll have to search the entire area."
"Search the skies if necessary, Minister," Dumbledore implied that the escaped creatures were flying Fantastic Beasts, then smiled at Hagrid. "Now I'd like a cup of tea, or a large glass of brandy."
"Executioner, we may no longer need your services here. Thank you."
"I don't have any small cups in my room, Professor." Hagrid happily invited Dumbledore into the hut, while McNeil angrily picked up his axe and chopped a pumpkin in half.
"So this is what we heard a few hours ago." Aaron chuckled. "As expected of an executioner, it really does sound like a head rolling."
"We have to find Buckbeak," Harry said hastily.
"The Forbidden Forest!" Aaron shrugged. "Abei will bring it over."
The three of them carefully entered the Forbidden Forest and watched from afar the swaying Whomping Willow.
Aaron spoke in a murmured tone, summoning his Dragon Cub in the Dragon Language.
Soon, the sound of hooves reached the ears of the three. Turning their heads, they saw the eagle- Hippogriff slowly approaching, with Abei sitting majestically on its back.
"My Merlin!" Harry's lips twitched violently, feeling that something was wrong with his worldview.
He went through so much effort to gain Buckbeak's approval when he took the Care of Magical Creatures; every step was fraught with anxiety.
Even if humans are inferior to dragons, Abei's approach is still a bit too easy.
Abei flapped his wings and flew to Aaron, pointing at Buckbeak, "I did a pretty good job, didn't I?"
"You did a very good job. I'll treat you to some meat when we get back."
Hermione and Harry tied Buckbeak to a tree and then sat on the grass to wait for what would happen.
As darkness fell, they saw Lupin enter the tree hollow. Not long after, Snape arrived, but he seemed to notice something, picked up an Invisibility Cloak from the ground, put it on, and went into the secret chamber.
"Harry, there's something I don't quite understand," Aaron said hesitantly. "When you and Black were surrounded by Dementor, what was that Patronus Charm you used...?"
"I don't know either." Harry shook his head. "I was almost fainting when I saw something silver fly over from the lake and drive away the Dementor."
Ron and I thought it was you!
"How could it be me? I can handle one Dementor, but a group of them is too much to ask."
"Who could it be?" Hermione asked curiously. "I remember Dumbledore saying that only truly powerful wizards can cast the Patronus Charm."
"I wouldn't dare to deny that," Aaron said dismissively. "It's true that only talented and kind-hearted Warlock can learn the Patronus Charm."
As for the power of this spell, it depends on the Warlock's magic power; the more magic power the Warlock has and the longer they can maintain it, the greater the power.
"Harry, did you get a good look at that Warlock?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Was it one of the professors?"
"No, it's not the professor," Harry said regretfully. "I could tell that person was familiar, but he didn't seem to want me to know who he was. Maybe he's a friend of my dad's!"
Aaron and Hermione exchanged a glance, neither confirming nor denying.
After all, so much has happened tonight. One Warlock after another from Harry's father's generation has appeared, so one more wouldn't be unacceptable.