As the sun neared the horizon and the students gradually returned to their dormitories, Harry used the Invisibility Cloak to sneak Hermione and Ron toward Hagrid's hut.
In the yard outside the hut, they saw Buckbeak idling about. The poor beast had no idea what fate awaited him.
At that moment, Minister for Magic Fudge had personally brought the executioner to Hagrid's hut to complete the handover procedures.
The conversation they overheard left all three of them deeply saddened.
But just then, Scabbers, who had been lying quietly in Ron's arms, suddenly became agitated.
He bit Ron's finger, making him cry out in pain and let go. The moment he hit the ground, he bolted toward the Forbidden Forest.
Ron was utterly stunned. Forgetting all about his friends, he immediately took off after him.
"Oh! Scabbers, where are you going? Wait for me!"
Even after being bitten, Ron still cared for Scabbers deeply, terrified that something might happen to him.
Harry and Hermione exchanged helpless looks, then could only put Buckbeak aside for the moment and hurried after Ron toward the Forbidden Forest.
They did not catch up until they neared the Whomping Willow, where Ron finally managed to seize Scabbers with a flying tackle.
"Oh, wait! Ron, calm down! Don't move yet! Be careful not to touch anything around you, anything at all!"
Harry and Hermione arrived, panting, only to see Ron sitting beneath the Whomping Willow with Scabbers in his arms. They were scared out of their wits.
Harry had experienced that thing before. Even with a car protecting him, he had been left in a terrible state. Ron was standing there completely unprotected—wouldn't he get beaten to a pulp?
As Ron soothed Scabbers, he too realized that something was wrong and stiffly prepared to slip out of