Hogwarts Lion Girl

"I can't believe this! Have those old guys' brains been flattened by the troll?!" Ron waved his fork angrily, almost poking Hermione's nose, "Hagrid is such a good man! How could they do this to him!"

"Ron, calm down!" Hermione slapped his fork away and glanced at the teachers' seats worriedly. "We are all very sad about Hagrid's matter. But we are in the auditorium now, speak softly, don't let the professors hear..."

"I heard it! I--" Ron wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Harry's low voice.

"Stop it, Ron. Look, here comes Hagrid."

Hagrid lowered his head, and the heavy footsteps were particularly clear in the silent hall. His face was full of sadness and frustration, and his huge palms were clenched into fists, as if he was trying his best to restrain something. When he passed by the Gryffindor table, he saw Harry and the others and forced a smile, but it was uglier than crying.

"Don't worry, Hagrid..." Hermione whispered to comfort her, but before she could finish her words, she was rudely interrupted by Hagrid.

"Don't worry? How can I not worry?" Hagrid's voice was hoarse and trembling. "They are going to execute Buckbeak! Execute! Just because it scratched that stupid Malfoy!"

He slammed his fist on the table, causing the plates and bowls to jump up. The students around him were startled, put down their knives and forks, and looked at him worriedly.

"Those damn politicians! And that stupid ass Fudge! They don't understand anything!" Hagrid's eyes were red, but he was stubborn and refused to let the tears fall. "Buckbeak is innocent! He was just protecting himself!"

"We all know, Hagrid." Harry held Hagrid's arm, trying to calm him down. "We'll find a way. We'll help you and Buckbeak."

Hagrid looked down at Harry, the anger in his eyes gradually subsided, replaced by deep powerlessness and despair. "Thank you, Harry. I know you are a good boy, but... I'm afraid no one can do anything about this matter."

He shook his head weakly, turned and left the auditorium, leaving several people looking at each other in confusion. The atmosphere was heavy and depressing.

For the next few days, Hagrid locked himself in the hut and saw no one. Only Fang would occasionally sneak out and wander around the castle, whining.

The only thing to be thankful for was that Professor Lupin finally returned to the classroom. His face was still pale, but his spirits were much better, and his familiar gentle smile reappeared on his face.

"It's nice to see you again, children." Professor Lupin stood on the podium, his eyes sweeping over every student in the classroom. "I know something happened during this period of time, which made everyone very sad, but please believe that everything will be fine."

Although his voice was gentle, it had a reassuring power. The students seemed to relax a little with his arrival, and they all perked up and listened attentively.

"Today we are going to learn a new defensive spell - the Patronus Charm." Professor Lupin waved his wand, and the spell's instructions and explanation appeared on the blackboard. "This is a very powerful defensive spell. It can summon a patronus to resist attacks from evil creatures, especially..."

He paused, his eyes falling on Harry, "Especially for Dementors, the Patronus Charm is their biggest nemesis."

Harry's heart skipped a beat, and his mind involuntarily emerged the scene of Salina summoning silver ferrets and heroically dispelling the Dementors above the Quidditch field that night.

"Professor, can you demonstrate it again? The Patronus Charm..." he couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, Harry." Professor Lupin smiled gently and raised his wand. "However, this spell requires strong willpower and happy memories as support. You must concentrate and imagine the happiest scene..."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and chanted a spell under his breath.

"Expect God's Guardian..."

……

It was late at night and the castle was silent, broken only by the occasional hooting of an owl.

Harry lay in bed, but he had no desire to sleep. In the dim moonlight, he took out the Marauder's Map from the bedside table and unfolded it carefully.

On the parchment, dense footprints showed the location of everyone in the castle. Harry moved his finger along the route on the map, carefully studying every corner, hoping to find a way to Hagrid's Hut and avoid all the professors and Filch on patrol.

Harry's heart leapt as the name on the map struck him like a bolt of lightning.

Peter Pettigrew, shouldn't this name belong to someone who died twelve years ago? Could it be that...

An almost absurd thought emerged in his mind, and he could hardly suppress his shaking hands. If Peter was still alive, did that mean...

No, now is not the time to think about these things. Buckbeak's safety is the most important thing.

Harry took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He stuffed the Marauder's Map into his pocket, tightly grasped the Invisibility Cloak in his hand, crouched down, and tiptoed out of the dormitory.

The corridor was silent, with only the faint crackling of the torches on the wall. Harry carefully observed his surroundings in the dim light, taking every step carefully, for fear of disturbing the guys in the portraits who always liked to shout.

The map showed that Peter was wandering around the spell classroom on the third floor, and Hagrid's hut was on the other side of the castle. Harry hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to go see what Peter was doing.

He crept along the corridor, his heartbeat getting faster and faster, echoing in his ears like a drum.

Turning the corner, Harry found himself facing a tall Gothic window. The moonlight filtered through the stained glass, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

There was a huge gargoyle under the window, and its hideous face looked particularly terrifying in the dim light. However, Peter disappeared, as if he had disappeared out of thin air.

Suddenly, there was a sound of light footsteps at the corner of the corridor. Harry's heart sank suddenly. He quickly glanced at the Marauder's Map. The map showed that Snape was walking towards him.

Damn it! Harry cursed inwardly. It was too late to turn back now. He could only stick close to the wall and try to reduce his presence.

Snape's tall figure appeared at the end of the corridor, his pale face full of impatience, and his hawk-like eyes scanned everything around him, as if he could see through all disguises.

"Who's there?" Snape's voice was low and dangerous, echoing in the silent corridor.

Harry held his breath and dared not move. He felt his back was soaked with cold sweat. Snape's footsteps were getting closer and closer, and he could even smell the strong smell of potion on him.

"Come out!" Snape shouted, pointing his wand at the corner where Harry was hiding.

Harry closed his eyes in despair, knowing that he had no way to escape this time.

"Severus, what are you doing?"

A gentle voice suddenly sounded, and Harry opened his eyes suddenly, and saw Professor Lupin standing at the other end of the corridor with a hint of confusion on his face.

"Remus?" Snape turned around, frowning slightly, "Why are you here?"

"I'm out on patrol," Professor Lupin walked forward and his eyes fell on the corner where Harry was hiding. "What happened here?"

"I noticed someone sneaking around here, but it seems to be just a hiding rat," Snape said coldly, his sharp eyes swept over the corner where Harry was hiding, "I hope my students can abide by the school rules and not run around at night."

"Of course, I'll remind them," Professor Lupin said with a smile.

Snape took a deep look at the corner where Harry was hiding, then turned and left.

Professor Lupin walked up to Harry, bent down, and whispered, "Come out, Harry."

Harry came out from the corner, a trace of fear still remaining on his face.

Professor Lupin's eyes fell on Harry's tightly clenched right hand. The familiar parchment material and the faintly visible ink lines on it made him immediately understand what it was.

"Give me the map," Professor Lupin held out his hand. "It's too late now. You should go back to the dormitory and rest."

Harry hesitated, but handed the map to Professor Lupin.

"Professor, Peter..."

"I know," Professor Lupin interrupted him, "I'll take care of it, don't worry."

"But……"

"No buts," Professor Lupin's tone became serious, "Now, go back to bed."

Harry wanted to say something else, but seeing Professor Lupin's determined eyes, he could only swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue and turned to walk towards the Gryffindor Tower.