Rockabye

Chapter 1 : Casper Roydon

Lleyboy & SnoopDogg

"Listen, I'm sure you'll do fine," the station guard told me. "I've really got to go now, okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled. I was about to board the Hogwarts train for my first year first term. I'm a half-breed, Casper Roydon at your service. I'm nervous, because I've heard dreadful stories of Slytherin and what the students in that house do to anything close to muggle-borns. Absolutely dreadful.

Shit. I'm seriously gonna be late for the train.

"Hey, this compartment full?" a group of three students, third-years, were standing at the door, waiting for a response. One was redheaded, and taller than the other two and obviously a boy. The girl had light brown hair, and big brown eyes. And the third was bespectacled, with shaggy dark hair and shimmering green eyes. "All the others are full."

"Not at all," surprised what the older students might want to do with me. "Wait, you aren't in Slytherin, are you?"

"Nope," the redhead wrinkled his nose. "Why?"

"I've heard horrid stories of what they do to anything close to muggle-borns."

"What do you mean 'close to a muggle born'?" the girl asked and giggled a little when I paled slightly. "Don't worry. I am one. I'm Hermione Granger."

"Roydon's the name," I said. "Casper Roydon."

The other two introduced themselves as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. As they got to talking, I stared out the window, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

"Wake up," I felt someone shaking my shoulder. "We're here."

I opened my eyes and got up, then followed the others out of the train. All of a sudden I heard someone sniffing.

"Crabbe, Goyle," a voice harrumphed from behind me. "Look what the cat dragged in. A half-breed! Wait till my father hears about this."

I was shoved forward and bumped into Ron, who was in front of me. He turned around and said, "Back off, Malfoy."

"What are you gonna do about it, weasel?" Malfoy taunted.

"He's gonna beat your bloody arse up, that's what," I retorted, surprising myself.

Malfoy's henchmen pushed me over, and my beanie fell off, causing my hair to fall over my face. I burned with anger, when all of a sudden I lightly pushed the workers away, but they went flying. Malfoy's sneer quickly turned scared, and he left me alone the rest of the night.

"Hmmmm…" the sorting hat was halfway done with his job. "I know… HUFFLEPUFF!" Cheers came from the Hufflepuff table, as the girl skipped over to join her housemates.

"Casper Roydon?" Professor McGonagall called. I walked up and sat in the chair. She placed the hat on my head.

"Aha! Hmmm…" I got kind of nervous. "SLY- ah, I see. GRYFFINDOR!"

I saw Malfoy sneer out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored him. I was a prankster, not a fighter. Hermione patted me on the back as I sat next to her and across from the two boys.

It was late in the year, and the only friends I had made were in 3rd year, the trio, Dean Thomas, and the Patil twins. It was the first Hogsmeade outing for the 3+ years, but since neither Hermione nor Harry has gotten signed parchments, we went to the library to study. I had mastered the levitating charm with Hermione when Harry took me to the storage rooms to get broomsticks. We spent the next hour and a half flying around, throwing a Quaffle. All of a sudden, Malfoy appeared. I threw the Quaffle at him, and it hit him square on the head. His henchmen caught him, but his Nimbus 2001 was absolutely ruined.

We went to Hagrid's hut with Hermione, but it was getting late so we said goodbye and left.

We ended up strewn about the common room, recounting the events of the day, when Creevey burst into the room and yelled to come, and quick.

We followed him to McGonagall's office. Then I waited outside for them to come out. A minute later, they called me in.

"Hello, Mr. Roydon," Professor McGonagall acknowledged.

"Good morning, Professor," I had always been one for jokes.

"Do you know the Weasley's, Roydon?" she asked, unexpectedly.

"Well, I know Ron and Ginny, but I take it they have quite a few siblings," I replied.

"Quite. One of these siblings happens to be Percy Weasley," she began. "You have met him, correct?"

"I don't think so, Professor," I again answered.

"Also, if I may ask," she plowed onward. "Who showed you to the dormitories on the first day of term?"

"Wood, I believe, ma'am," Oliver Wood actually, but I learned to keep my answers short.

"Thank you for this information, Mr. Roydon," she finalized. "You may wait outside for your friends."

I nodded to my friends and sat outside to wait for the two.

They came out a few minutes later.

"Hell was that all about?" I asked Harry.

"Percy isn't here for some reason," he answered. "We best be off to bed now."

We made it to the common room, where I promptly fell on a couch. Hermione lit the fire and collapsed on another. Harry grinned, conjured a few blankets from upstairs, and lay them over each of us.

"Casper?" Hermione whispered into the darkness.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Have you slept yet?"

"No…"

"Okay."

"Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any plans for Christmas?"

"I'm going to France."

"I was wondering…"

"Yeah?"

"If maybe your family would like to meet me there. In Paris."

"Of course!"

"Okay then. Sweet dreams."

"Good night."

All of a sudden, a loud crash sounded, and startled Hermione. I couldn't keep my eyes open, though, and I descended into sleep.

"Expelliarmus!" I yelped and Harry's wand flew out of his hand and clattered to the ground a few feet away. He applauded me.

"Nice one, Casper!" he congratulated.

He walked over to his wand and picked it up. We walked out to go to the Quidditch pitch, but right outside was Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle easily stole Harry's wand and knocked him unconscious.

"See here, at Hogwarts," Malfoy sneered, causing him to look even uglier than usual. "We teach you filthy half-breeds the way you're supposed to be treated. We don't just humiliate you, no. We're going to torture you. DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

I looked warily at his eyes, my black ones penetrating his weak blue eyes. He smiled creepily.

"You see, your poor Harry was dosed with a strong sleeping potion at dinner," Malfoy was rambling now. "And trust me, your stupid mudblood girlfriend and the Weasley are no match for the Dark Lord, or his servants."

"Your silly Dark Lord is incapacitated," I tried to make my voice as un-shaky as possible. "It would take more than all the Slytherin students have to offer to be able to make him live again."

"Not with your filthy blood, it won't," he said. He stormed off down the hallway, and I was unable what to make of him, so I went after him, making sure I wasn't seen. He marched outside, where Hermione and Ron were standing. There were a few large stones, and they were standing on a patch of grass.

"Petrificus Totalus!" with that, Ron was out of the battle.

"Stupefy! Reducto! Expelliarmus!" Hermione was good, but not good enough. I had to do something.

"Expelliarmus! Expelliarmus!" I yelled. Crabbe and Goyle's wands were thrown into the air. "Infusculus! Infusculus!"

The henchmen were blinded and wandless, crawling along the floor.

Malfoy turned around and kicked Hermione in the ribs. She lay, unconscious, on the ground.

"NO!" I dropped my wand and ran at Malfoy, not thinking straight. I dodged his badly aimed hexes and jinxes, then tackled him. I was blinded by anger. "You, foul, loathsome, evil little COCKROACH!"

I punched him, then slammed my fists repeatedly into his face, ribs, and back. He acted like a little baby, curling up and whimpering. All of a sudden, Harry came running through the tunnel that led to the grassy lawn.

"Go!" I yelled through my tears. "Quickly, get Mrs. Pomfrey!"

I held Hermione's head in my arms, worried so badly I would probably get sick. A few moments later Pomfrey came running, Harry trailing behind her. She levitated Draco and Hermione behind her after a few blood-stopping spells. Harry unbound Ron.

"Where is he?!" Ron jumped to his feet, wand in hand. "I'll kill him!"

"Sorry Ron, but Malfoy's gone to the hospital wing," Harry cringed at his outburst. Funny.

Ron looked around and saw blood on my hands and arms and exclaimed, "How about Casper? He's hardly fine!"

"That's not his blood on his hands, Ron," Harry explained pleadingly.

Ron, not taking the hint, continued his outburst. "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's Malfoy's, okay Ron?" Harry was done with this. "He beat him up. Bad."

"Wha-" Ron stopped mid-word. He walked over to me and whispered, "Is it true?"

I nodded my head solemnly.

"Come on Casper," Harry called. I didn't budge. "Hermione wouldn't want you to freeze to death tonight."

"Alright, fine," I gave in. I walked into the tunnel, but when my fellow Gryffindors headed straight, I took a quick right towards the hospital wing. They ran after me, not fazed at all.

As we walked into the wing, my eyes searched the room. They first fell on a blonde boy in Slytherin robes, bleeding on his ear and through his robes. He was whimpering in his sleep. I forced my eyes away from his bed and I saw Hermione. She looked pale, lifeless. Unconscious. It nearly brought me to tears just looking at her. I walked to Pomfrey and asked, quiet as a whisper, "How is she?"

Pomfrey stared at me, amazed at my nerve. "Mr. Roydon, I believe you are in no fit state to be here! The Headmaster is looking for you!"

"I said," I raised my voice and my eyes bored into hers. She visibly gulped. "How is she?"

"She'll be okay," she said, expression unfocused. "Two broken ribs a-"

"Two WHAT!?" I exclaimed.

"Broken ribs," she continued. "And a bit of brain damage."

"Oh, God," I whispered under my breath.

"Now, if you'll excuse m-"

She was interrupted by a chair floating through the air. It landed softly next to Hermione's bed. I walked over to it and sat down.

"Mister Roydon!" Pomfrey started to raise her voice. "You will go to the Headmaster at once!"

"Shhhhhhhh!" I hissed angrily. She gulped again. "If you want, you can go get Professor Dumbledore, but I will not leave here until Hermione wakes up!"

"Fine then!" Pomfrey turned to leave, only to stop in her tracks. I turned and saw Dumbledore in the doorway.

"I believe that will not be necessary, Poppy," Dumbledore walked towards us. "Mr. Roydon, there are a few things I would like to discuss with you."

I nodded, focus mostly on Hermione.

"Firstly, I need to know what happened with you, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, and Mr. Potter this evening."

"Well, me and Harry were off to the pitch to practice a bit, but Malfoy and his gang were waiting right outside the painting at the Gryffindor common room. They put Harry to sleep and ran off. I followed them to Hermione."

"I see."

"Yes, well they used the body-bind on Ron, then I disarmed and temporarily blinded Crabbe and Goyle."

"Hmm."

"Malfoy kicked Hermione in the side, and…"

"And what, Mr. Roydon?"

"And I beat him up. Harry came and I told him to get Mrs. Pomfrey, and I waited there."

"Mr. Roydon, you know, that by doing this, you have broken 5 school rules, give or take."

I nodded.

"And that this would normally result in immediate expulsion, including having your wand snapped and your brain wiped of all magic."

My head snapped up, and my heart broke. No, that's an understatement. It shattered into dust.

"However, this is far from the normal situation. I understand that you did this for the protection of Ms. Granger here, and for Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley."

"I have decided that you will instead have detention for a week-"

My face fell.

"with Professor Lupin, and will lose 5 points to Gryffindor."

"And I assume Malfoy is getting off free? And his goons?"

"Not at all, Casper."

The use of my first name caused me to look up, then my attention refocused on Hermione.

"In fact, they will be paying detention for a month, will not be able to go on Hogsmeade weekends for the rest of the year, and will be losing 15 points for Slytherin. Each."

The next morning, Hermione shook me awake, and when I saw her eyes, my heart skipped a beat.

'Stupid Roydon,' I thought to myself. 'Can't stand not being a pervert, now can I?'

We ran down to the common room, and after a long and normal, tiring day with classes and whatnot, we collapsed on to the couches in the Gryffindor common room because we were so tired. We pulled the blankets that had been there from the night before, and fell asleep in a few minutes.

"Where is he?"

"Listen, I haven't found him ye-"

"Come on! I've waited twelve years to kill him!"

"I don't think you've had twelve years to wait."

"I DID MY WAITING!"

"And however did you manage that?"

"I DID IT! TWELVE YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!"

Harry woke me up hurriedly. I rubbed my eyes, then glanced up at him. Ron was at the couch Hermione was on, desperately trying to wake her up. I got up, already wearing some decent clothes. Hermione got up slowly, then allowed Ron and I to pull her through the corridors to Professor Dumbledore's office. I ran into a wall, and fell, accidentally pulling Hermione on top of me.

"Did you have to take me along?" Hermione mumbled.

"Come on!" Harry pulled Hermione up and kept running. "We're nearly there."

All of a sudden Harry came to a complete halt as he was face to face with Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter? Mr. Weasley? Ms. Granger?" McGonagall was evidently tired. "What are you three doing here?"

"We were on our way to Professor Dumbledore's office," Harry explained quickly.

"Very well," McGonagall submitted. "Albus is waiting for you anyhow."

"Thank you," Harry began pulling Hermione as I felt a tug on my wrist. I ran after them.

"Anyone care to explain what's going on?" I asked.

"Dream," Ron answered, as if that explained everything. Apparently it actually was, because Hermione began to wake up and start trying to go fast.

When we reached Professor Dumbledore's office, he greeted us in and asked why we were here.

"I had a dream," Harry began. Dumbledore seemed to gain interest. "I was in a room, and there were two men. One was Professor Lupin, and the other was crazy looking, with black hair and a black-white striped shirt."

Dumbledore nodded and gestured Harry to go on.

"Lupin said, 'I haven't found him yet' and the man seemed to be getting crazier and crazier," he finally concluded. "He finalized by saying 'I did twelve years of waiting in Azkaban!'"

"I see," Dumbledore picked a lemon drop from his bowl and popped it into his mouth before continuing. "The man that Professor Lupin was talking to sounds like Sirius Black."

Hermione sat up and gasped. Ron's mouth hung agape. I just stared blankly.

"He's a mass murderer, Casper," Hermione whispered into my ear. "Rumor has it he's out for Harry." My eyes widened, but I allowed Dumbledore to go on without any questions from me.

"We had an invasion earlier, and I realize that you ran into Professor McGonagall on the way here," Dumbledore was rambling, I was sure of it. I slid my hand into Hermione's. "She was going to bed after a meeting the Hogwarts faculty were having due to the intrusion."

"However, I can assure you that the students here are completely safe, and you may go back to your dormitories at this time," Dumbledore gestured us out the door and into the hall. "Good night."

A/N : My email is snoopandlay - if you have any questions, email me. Also, I don't own Harry Potter, although I did make up Casper Roydon. Sorry it's a little fast paced, I just want to get to the exciting part, which is in fourth year.