"Harry! I think you should talk to Hagrid. Jumping straight into lessons with Hippogriffs is a bit too much. Maybe he could start with something smaller, like Bowtruckles or Nifflers."
Hermione Granger approached Harry Potter during the class break.
Under Regulus Black's suggestion, Hermione knew she needed to help young Harry when the time was right.
"But I heard Malfoy's father is furious about him getting hurt. Who knows how this will turn out? Hagrid's already been suspended."
Harry Potter didn't seem very enthusiastic. After all, he shared some responsibility for Rubeus Hagrid being suspended. If they hadn't been chatting at the time, they might have stopped Draco Malfoy from getting too close.
"But doesn't Hagrid want to continue being a professor? Failing once doesn't matter—as long as he doesn't make any more mistakes."
Before persuading Hagrid, Hermione Granger had to convince Harry Potter.
"You're right! No matter what, we've got to help Hagrid pull himself back together!"
Harry Potter immediately perked up and, grabbing Ron Weasley, dashed off.
Hermione Granger watched Harry's sudden burst of energy, feeling a chill in her heart. Shouldn't he have pulled her—the one who came up with the idea—along instead?
He pulled Ron Weasley? Had their relationship already become that close? Though she felt a bit bitter, Hermione knew she still had to follow—who knew what the two of them might say?
"Hagrid! You have to pull yourself together! You can still continue being a professor. Let's just put the Buckbeak incident behind us!"
Harry Potter, with Ron Weasley in tow, found Rubeus Hagrid by the lake, feeding the creatures there with his rock cakes—and also using them to skip stones across the water.
"How did the hearing go, Hagrid?"
Hermione Granger was quite frustrated by Harry's empty encouragement. This needed to be approached directly—step by step.
"At first, the committee asked why we were there. I gave my reasons—I said Buckbeak is a fine Hippogriff, always preening his feathers. Then that Lucius Malfoy jumped in—you can imagine—he said Buckbeak was a deadly beast that would attack anyone on sight."
Under Hermione's guidance, Rubeus Hagrid began recounting the entire hearing in detail.
"And then?" Hermione could already sense the worst from what she'd heard.
"Then that old bastard pushed for the worst outcome."
Though Hagrid had his back to the three students, they could hear the catch in his voice.
"They didn't fire you, did they?"
Harry Potter asked anxiously—that was the only outcome he could think of.
"No! I wasn't fired. But Buckbeak was sentenced to death."
At that point, Hagrid, overcome with sorrow, hurled the remaining rock cakes into the lake. For an animal lover like him, even being fired wouldn't have hurt this much—but killing an innocent Hippogriff was simply too cruel.
It was clear that Lucius Malfoy had targeted the half-giant's weakness, striking precisely where it would hurt. And to the public, a Hippogriff's life wasn't considered that valuable—if sacrificing it meant avoiding Hagrid's dismissal, it seemed like a good trade.
But that's not how Rubeus Hagrid saw it. To him, it felt like the Hippogriff had taken the fall for him.
"Buckbeak, the Hippogriff, has been sentenced to death. The Ministry of Magic is still processing the paperwork. As long as that process isn't finished, Hagrid's classes can't resume. It's a calculated move—this year's Care of Magical Creatures class is basically over."
Back at the school, Hermione Granger explained everything to the two confused Gryffindor boys who still hadn't grasped what was really going on.
"How could they do this? Hagrid finally became a professor, and this blow is just too much."
Ron Weasley jumped up in anger, feeling this was utterly unfair.
"And we can't even clear Buckbeak's name or speed up his execution process. No matter what, we can only stand by and watch, helpless."
Harry Potter had never realized how complicated the adult world could be. If Hermione Granger hadn't explained it to him, he wouldn't have understood so quickly. Harry glanced at the girl beside him, wondering if this was the mature side of a girl in love.
Harry knew that Hermione Granger was one of Regulus Black's earliest girlfriends.
"Sarah Maidenly! What made you decide to join the Black family?"
Regulus Black arrived in the town of Dafton, the designated place for Sirius Black to make an appearance. The address was the home of a thirteen-year-old girl with wine-red hair. Though she was a Squib, her status lay perfectly between Muggle and wizard.
Having Sirius Black appear at her home was a safe and controlled way to reveal him. Regulus Black certainly didn't want his brother chased by countless wizards waving wands.
The thirteen-year-old girl before him exuded a maturity that surpassed even Hermione Granger's. After agreeing to Lucy Piddle's terms, she boldly proposed becoming the mistress of Regulus Black, the mastermind behind this plan.
Yes, you heard that right—this thirteen-year-old girl directly suggested becoming his mistress. That's why Regulus Black came to investigate, perhaps even to "inspect the goods" if things went well.
"As you said, to become a member of the Black family, not to live as a Squib in the Muggle world."
Sarah Maidenly sat calmly, without a hint of seductive posturing. Yet her natural allure was already captivating and sensual, enhanced by her striking heterochromatic eyes—pale golden irises that were clear, radiant, and mesmerizing.
When Regulus Black spoke of joining the Black family, it was merely a polite phrase. After all, he couldn't exactly say to a thirteen-year-old girl, "Hey, you're pretty—be my mistress!" Could he?
Yet, unexpectedly, this girl had smoothly latched onto his words.
"Why bother? Your family seems to treat you well. Not every child gets their own villa."
Regulus Black's words acknowledged that her family cared for her, but the subtext implied that her actions bordered on betraying her family. Someone who could betray their own family was not to be trusted.
In Western culture, traitors either face death or ostracism—perfectly normal outcomes.
"I'm a half-blood, but I didn't inherit any wizarding blood, making me a Squib. My surname has no connection to my family—it's my mother's. This property was left to me by her. After she died a few years ago, my father never returned. If I hadn't been registered with the Ministry of Magic as a child, I'd have no ties to the wizarding world. Does that put your mind at ease?"
The golden-eyed girl recounted her story calmly, showing no resentment for a past others might see as tragic. Instead, she displayed an air of serene self-assurance.
"One last question: what do you hope to gain by joining the Black family?"
Regulus Black was quite pleased with this golden-eyed girl, both in terms of her background and personality. The only question now was their mutual expectations. Lucy Piddle had already discussed some preliminary terms with her, including the explicit condition that joining the Black family meant willingly becoming Regulus Black's kept woman. Astonishingly, this thirteen-year-old girl had weighed the offer and agreed.
Yes, Lucy Piddle had used the word "weighed," highlighting the maturity of Miss Sarah Maidenly.
"Safety. I need someone reliable to protect me for life."
The golden-eyed girl blinked as she spoke.
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