Child of Azkaban

The Fallout

The next few days were a spin. Hermione was cleared as ok but a little shaken up. She had told Pomfrey and McGonagall she was attacked by older Slytherins but someone saved her. She refused to say who.

When the three students were found in the corridor they foolishly incriminated themselves by saying Deimos had attacked them near the library. The same area Hermione said her attack happened.

Percy had, extremely politely, asked Deimos to accompany him to to the Headmasters office and sighed in relief when Deimos had done so without question. When asked if he had attacked the Slytherins he said he had, in defence of Ms. Granger.

Y/N had expected to be expelled. He was surprised when instead the three Slytherin third years were expelled. Wands snapped, never to practice magic again.

Deimos had been shocked that people, rather than avoiding him, were actively smiling at him in the hallways now. At most he grunted back at the majority of them. He was under no illusions.

These people were sheep, lemmings- mindless herrings. Incapable of independent thought and going which ever way the waves took them.

It wouldn't be long until he was public enemy number one again.

He had been pleasantly surprised to talk to Hermione though. It was three days after the incident when she had cornered him alone in the library.

"Hi Y/N" she said smiling.

"Hermione" he answered in his unemotional way.

"I just wanted to thank you. You saved me. If you weren't there they would have...." she trailed off as tears fell from her eyes.

Y/N offered her a handkerchief which she accepted and dried her eyes.

"You don't need to thank me Hermione. I'm just glad I was there. They're gone now though. They will never be able to try and hurt you again. I don't think anyone else here would be stupid enough to try either" he smirked.

Hermione giggled before looking at him. She took in his grey, brooding, stormy eyes before asking "Why? Why did you save me?"

Y/N was stunned by the question. "Why wouldn't I?"

Hermione looked down and seemed to steady herself before answered "because I'm a muggleborn".

Y/N was angered instantly, and hurt, but he kept his feelings in check to respond coolly:

"Hermione- when since we met had I given you the slightest indication that mattered to me?"

Hermione thought back. She searched her memories.

Never. Not once had Y/N been unpleasant to her, rude, looked at her meanly or been the slightest bit disrespectful.

She looked down saddened. "You haven't"

"So why would you think that mattered to me? Because of my parents? I hate them as much as anyone else Hermione".

She looked back up at him with chocolate eyes that were threatening to erupt again.

"I'm sorry"

Y/N looked at her for a moment before a small smirk rose at the corner of his lips.

"You're forgiven. I'll never judge you by the nature of your birth so how bout you do the same for me?"

Hermione smiled. It was deep, genuine, beautiful. It filled Y/N with a feeling he didn't understand and didn't particularly like.

"Deal. I'm sorry I ever listened to Ron".

She didn't expect what happened next. Y/N laughed- loudly!

"Oh Hermione. Up until this point I had been quite impressed with your intelligence. Why on earth would you listen to that ginger dingbat?"

Hermione giggled back. "I'm not sure. Can we be friends?"

Y/N smiled. It didn't happen often so kind of stunned Hermione.

"I'd like that a lot".

Hermione had joined Deimos's small crew from that point onwards. Neville was instantly warm and welcoming to her. Pansy had taken a little longer to take a shine to Hermione. The next week passed peacefully enough until it happened.

Somehow the damn Daily Prophet had caught wind of the attack.

It ran the story on the front page in huge writing

"Son of Deimos saves muggleborn from pureblood attack"

The mail had started that day. Hundreds of letters arrived for him daily. Some were full of praise. Some were full of full of suspicion- many were full of death threats asking how the son of a great man could be a filthy blood traitor.

Saturday morning Y/N was sitting at the Gryffindor table with his three friends when the letters started arriving.

"Just burn them Y/N. Don't even give them the time of day" Pansy stated looking at her friend in concern.

"Pansy's right Y/N. These people aren't worth you worrying about if they've got nothing better to do than harass an eleven year old". Hermione agreed garnering a smile from the first girl.

Y/N grunted in agreeance before he noticed a larger different shaped letter to the others. He picked it up- feeling drawn to it in a way he couldn't explain.

He opened it and there was an unsigned note. It simply read 'This is what you are!"

Y/N raised an eyebrow as he looked under the note to see a quill sitting there. He further raised the eyebrow and picked it up without thinking.

He would regret that moment for years to come.

He instantly grabbed his right deltoid screaming in agonising pain, scaring not only his friends but all the other students in the hall.

He stood grabbing at his right shoulder, screaming in agony as he removed his white t-shirt to get at the pain.

"What's wrong? what's wrong?" His friends asked scared to death.

They then saw his right arm. Blood was pouring out from his deltoid as the words BLOOD TRAITOR were appearing, being carved into his flesh by an unseen hand. The blood flowed freely as Y/N felt himself passing out from pain and blood loss.

Neville reached for the quill concerned before Y/N pushed himself with one last effort.

"No Neville. Cursed"

He collapsed surrounded by two crying girls in a pool of blood as teachers rushed to his side in front of a scared and traumatised student body.