In Hagrid's hut, a very heavy atmosphere filled the room.
The reason? Hagrid lost his case, and therefore Buckbeak will receive the capital punishment of death by decapitation.
The trial was going well at the beginning, even if Hagrid was a little intimidated by all the people who attended.
He had his list of arguments and even some student testimonies from those who appreciated him.
But at one point during Buckbeak's defense, Lucius Malfoy stood up and started addressing the assembly, emphasizing the danger that Buckbeak could pose if released.
That bully even tried to sway the jury emotionally by making them imagine if it were their child instead of his.
At that moment, Hagrid was completely lost; he mixed up his notes and couldn't manage to save the hippogriff.
I can say that I would have done a little better than him, but I know there was almost no way to save Buckbeak.
The sentence is mostly a punishment for Hagrid for bringing such a dangerous animal to a third-year class. If it had been for a sixth- or seventh-year class, it would have been a little better because they understand the dangers that a hippogriff represents. Moreover, those students are passionate about magical creatures, so there's less risk of someone making an imprudent move.
There will obviously be an appeal, but of course, there's no chance it will succeed because it will happen at school — on the same day as Buckbeak's scheduled beheading.
So, after trying to console Hagrid, I decided to take Hermione and Marie to the Room of Requirement to prepare the final plan: using Hermione's Time-Turner to save him in secret.
"We can't do this; time shouldn't be used for things like this."
"Except that, in principle, we usually think of using the Time-Turner after the consequence has occurred. So, intending to use it before the event takes place means that when it happens, the future you — the one who goes back in time — will save Buckbeak."
It's simple: most people would use it after the beheading had already happened, which means playing with the time stream. But here, if we've already decided to use the Time-Turner beforehand, we'll know that we've already made a move to save Buckbeak.
"Couldn't I use this strategy to save Buckbeak before using the Time-Turner?"
"No, you must first analyze the situation to know the precise timing you'll need to save Buckbeak. For example, if you're too slow, you'll be discovered. Additionally, this allows us to determine whether saving him is even possible."
The plan is still complicated enough, but the biggest challenge will be getting Buckbeak to move and preventing him from returning to Hagrid.
We had to prepare Hermione to know how to take care of Buckbeak so that he would remain calm. For that, we decided to visit Hagrid the following week, pretending that we were there to help him — but mainly to learn more about Buckbeak, what he likes, and other details.
Hagrid was very happy that we were so interested in him that he couldn't stop talking.
Since I've been helping him organize his classes, they've become much more engaging, even if they aren't always about Hagrid's favorite creatures.
Sometimes he even gives lessons on funny creatures like the Niffler — harmless and very interesting.
The knowledge he has about magical creatures and his hands-on experience make the lessons enjoyable, especially if you ask him to talk about a specific creature that day.