Chapter 49: Preparing a Defense for Buckbeak

Night, the library.

John and Hermione sat together, flipping through their respective books.

The dim, yellow light spilled onto the pages, reflecting Hermione's brow, which furrowed slightly from time to time.

A pile of heavy books was stacked on Hermione's desk, many of them regarding legal clauses for the disposal of magical creatures.

She was helping Hagrid find legal provisions favorable to Buckbeak.

A Hippogriff belongs to the XXX class of magical creatures; it is not considered a high-risk species, but neither is it low-risk.

Especially under the instigation of those with ulterior motives, Buckbeak had been labeled a dangerous creature.

Hermione closed her book and rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

She had been repeatedly using the Time-Turner to study multiple courses lately, and having to juggle her studies while reading these legal books had almost exhausted her energy.

John took out a candy at the right moment and placed it in front of Hermione.

"I hear that after overusing your brain, eating something sweet helps replenish it."

John said softly while looking at his own book.

Hermione smiled slightly without saying anything, picked up the candy, and put it in her mouth. The sweetness spread across the tip of her tongue, and her fatigue seemed to lighten a little.

Due to spending long periods together in the library,

the two of them slowly developed a tacit understanding.

When John encountered a difficult problem, Hermione would take the initiative to help him clear it up.

And when Hermione encountered a difficult problem, John would offer encouragement or suggestions at the right time.

This atmosphere of mutual support allowed them to improve in both their studies and their friendship.

Hermione looked down at the defense materials she had organized.

She softly asked for John's opinion.

Her tone still carried a hint of helplessness.

"John, how do you think we should help Buckbeak?"

Hearing Hermione's words, John closed his book.

Ever since their last visit to Hagrid's hut, Hermione and John had found they had many more topics in common.

Hermione would occasionally share things with John, including matters regarding Buckbeak.

Therefore, John also knew about Hermione's current dilemma, and for this reason, he had also read some relevant legal books.

After pondering for a moment, John slowly offered his suggestion: "Perhaps we could start with the issue of jurisdiction."

"As far as I know, magical creatures have a set of specialized laws and a dedicated department to manage them."

"The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures generally only handles the most dangerous species of XXXXX class."

"But Buckbeak is not the most dangerous; he was pushed into that category by people with ulterior motives, so he shouldn't be handed over to the Dangerous Creatures Committee."

"We can collect evidence to prove his gentleness, appeal to the committee, and strive for a re-evaluation."

"Even if we can't clear Buckbeak of the charges, we can at least delay the process."

"At the same time, we can change Buckbeak's public image and strive for more sympathy and support."

Hearing John's words, Hermione also felt it made a lot of sense.

It wasn't about saving Buckbeak in one fell swoop, but rather using legal channels to buy time; only then could they hope for more turning points.

Hermione followed John's line of thinking, mentally refining his suggestion, and by drawing inferences, she came up with other routes.

"Hmm, what you say makes sense. Perhaps we could also conduct a behavioral experiment to demonstrate Buckbeak's habits in court."

"Hippogriffs are friendly but proud animals."

"You can only approach and pet them if you bow seriously to them and receive a response."

"Malfoy was injured back then precisely because he didn't seriously follow Hagrid's instructions."

"We can have the students who were present at the time act as witnesses, and at the same time, have Hagrid demonstrate the behavioral norms for contacting a Hippogriff again."

"As long as someone on the spot can contact Buckbeak using Hagrid's method without being attacked, that can prove Buckbeak's gentleness."

Hermione recorded these thoughts while talking to herself; although it was just a delaying tactic, it was better than nothing.

Buckbeak's situation was currently not optimistic, and any useful suggestion should be utilized.

Seeing that Hermione had a new direction, John didn't say anything more and went back to reading his book.

How should one put it?

It was indeed a good breakthrough.

But it wasn't as easy as it sounded; if Malfoy could push Buckbeak into a trial, he could certainly continue to stir up trouble from the shadows.

For John, the simplest thing would be to just let Buckbeak go.

However, according to what Professor Hagrid said, that would make things difficult for Headmaster Dumbledore, and he didn't want to make things difficult for Dumbledore.

So he wanted to resolve Buckbeak's predicament through legal means.

Dumbledore was the greatest white wizard of the century, so how could he be put in a difficult position?

Although John didn't understand, he respected it.

Time quickly reached the eve of curfew.

John and Hermione walked out of the library together.

Hermione stretched her back, revealing her slender figure.

With John's suggestion, Hermione finally saw a glimmer of hope, and her mood became much more cheerful as a result.

Most importantly, there was finally someone to share this heavy burden with her, making her feel a long-lost sense of relaxation.

Harry and Ron, those two thick-headed guys, couldn't help at all.

"John, I'm going to Hogsmeade tomorrow. I'll bring you a gift when I get back."

"Then the day after tomorrow, will you accompany me to Hagrid's again? I want to discuss Buckbeak's matter with him, is that okay?"

Hermione and John were walking side-by-side on the way back to the dormitory, and Hermione asked John with a bright smile.

John thought about it for a moment and didn't refuse.

He had agreed with his friends to go to the secret base on Saturday, so he had nothing to do on Sunday.

It just so happened that when he went to Hagrid's hut last time, he saw quite a few strange things there, and he was very interested.

It was just that because it was his first time there, he was too embarrassed to ask much, so this would be a perfect chance to take a closer look.

"Alright, then let's meet at the Great Hall at nine o'clock on Sunday morning."

John nodded and said, and Hermione also indicated that was no problem.

The two chatted all the way as they walked toward the Gryffindor dormitory.

Although John had been to the Gryffindor dormitory once, he still walked along with Hermione.

It was on the way, anyway.

If he left Hermione to go back alone in the middle of the night, that would be quite heartless.

"Huh, is that rat Banban?"

John had excellent eyesight and suddenly noticed a gray rat at the end of the corridor, looking around furtively.

Hermione followed John's gaze and indeed saw a rat.

Having seen the rat for two years, Hermione could tell from its size at a glance that the rat was likely Banban.

Banban also discovered them and immediately darted into the shadows.

"This rat is running around outside in the middle of the night; isn't it afraid of being snatched away by an owl?"

John said curiously.

"Come to think of it, this rat has lived for over a dozen years; is it really not a magical creature?"

"I haven't studied it carefully either."

Hermione, who was beside him, shook her head and said.

Although John felt a sense of strangeness, he didn't say anything more.

People in the wizarding world generally had quite high levels of acceptance.

Even when they encountered some unexplainable problems, they wouldn't delve too deeply into them.

John joked, "Perhaps it really does have some secret."

"Didn't Big Orange say it has Cat Raccoon blood? Big Orange is so targeted toward that rat."

"Maybe that rat is a bad person in disguise."

Hermione chuckled and shook her head: "Don't let your imagination run wild. Banban has lived in Ron's house for over a dozen years; what kind of bad intentions could it have?"

John also shook his head and laughed, not taking it seriously. ===== CHAPTER 50 =====