Adelaide

Ch 48- Accused of betrayal

Pettigrew was writhing in Ron's hands.

"What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still — OUCH! He bit me!" Ron hissed.

"Ron, be quiet!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Fudge'll be out here in a minute —"

"He won't — stay — put —"

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But the cat was getting nearer —

"Get him, Crookshanks," Adelaide whispered.

"Scabbers — NO!"

Too late — the rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away and without any hesitation, Ron too had pelted into the darkness. A few seconds and Harry and Hermione ran after him. Adelaide stood there, looking for her wand. She finally found it in her pocket.

"Lumos," she said, lighting the tip of her wand. In the faint glow, she saw Harry and Hermione run blindly towards the Whomping Willow. Sighing, Adelaide ran towards them. Before she could warn them, a big black dog had knocked Harry over and was going for Ron.

"Sirius," Adelaide said to herself.

"RON!" Harry and Hermione yelled as Sirius dragged Ron through the hole at the bottom of the tree, near the cluster of roots.

"Harry — we've got to go for help —" Hermione gasped

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time —"

"We're never going to get through without help —"

"Stop, you idiots," Adelaide said, as she looked at the other two, all bloodied and bruised. Adelaide stayed well out of the thrashing branches. She looked around, found a twig, and levitated it. She made it to float between the wild branches and tap the knot in the branches. The tree froze.

"Let's go," Adelaide said running towards the hole.

"How did--" Hermione started.

"Not now," Harry said as he slipped in. The girls followed.

They slipped through the hole and went through a passage, towards the dim light they saw at the end.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked uncertainly.

"The Shrieking Shack," Harry and Adelaide said at once.

Quietly as they could, they crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs. They reached the dark landing.

"Nox," they whispered together, and the lights at the end of their wands went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

Wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open.

On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

Harry and Hermione dashed across to him.

"Ron — are you okay?"

"Where's the dog?"