Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Ron stopped dead.
"Oh please, Ron," Hermione began.
"It's Scabbers -- he won't -- stay put --"
Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was going berserk; sqeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his teeth into Ron's hand.
"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron," Ron hissed.
They heard a door open behind them and men's voices.
"Oh Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione breathed.
"Okay -- Scabbers, stay put --"
They walked forward; Harry like Hermione, was trying not to listen to the rumble of voices behind them. Ron stopped again.
"I can't hold him -- Scabbers, shut up, everyone'll hear us --"
The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe.
Hermione swayed on the spot.
"They did it!" she whispered to Harry. "I d--don't believe it -- they did it!"

This is the part from Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban when they were executing Buckbeak the Hippogriff. For some reason this part made me laugh. Not the fact the Buckbeak is getting executed, the whole thing with Ron and Scabbers made me laugh. This book makes me want a Hippogriff. Apparently, a Hippogriff is half bird, half horse.