THE POTIONEER | hermione granger

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE POTIONEER | 1.16
"SO, WHO'S GOING DOWN FIRST?"
Hogwarts Castle, Scotland | 1994

THE 9TH OF JUNE WAS WHEN EVERYTHING came together. It was a night Elizabeth Carver would never forget, because it changed her life forever. Everything she had learnt that year, every small piece of information she had found out, all came together into one big puzzle. She saw the big picture. Of course, Lizzie knew not every one of her issues had been solved, if anything she had only gotten more, but what could she do about that? It was all in the past now. But she couldn't explain what happened without starting from the beginning. To that evening. To when it all started with Buckbeak's death.

The evening air was stale as Lizzie, Hermione, Harry and Ron walked out of the Clock Tower and into the courtyard, the world looking a whole lot more grey. Hagrid had sent them all a letter that morning saying that today was the day of Buckbeak's execution, they hadn't gotten an invitation to visit, but they guessed Hagrid would need some support. They knew they couldn't stay for the actual thing, but they could help ease the pain beforehand.

As they headed outside, a horrible screech echoed around them, causing each of them to furrow their eyebrows and want to cover their ears. None of them did, however, instead continuing to walk around the One-Eyed Witch statue in the middle of the courtyard, stepping over the cracks in the cobblestones. Sitting on a stone bench by the entrance to the bridge was the executioner, a black hood covering his face ominously, some wide eyes and a sneering smile visible through the tears. One hand held the handle of an axe, while the other had a small pebble, most likely from the shore of the lake, sharpening the edge.