Looking up he saw most of the school staring at Hermione.
She was staring at the paper in her hands with a look of utter devastation , before it was quickly replaced with a blank look as her occlumency took hold.
Quickly grasping his copy of paper he felt his heart plummet as he looked at the front page of the daily prophet.
It was Hermione's Azkaban Photo.
fuck fuck FUCK
How had this happened ?
It was Rita Skeeter of course , the woman could smell a story from a mile away , and this was one hell of a story.
He skimmed the page quicky and his stomach dropped even further.
Everything was there , everything that had happened to her.
Though it had been twisted to make her the villain of the piece.
She'd been portrayed as a dangerous trouble maker , that had been arrested for a vicious assault on a ministry worker.
But had later been released on a technicality.
It talked of her devious and traitorous friendship with Lucius Malfoy and other death eaters , to raise her status and provide protection.
How she was offering sexual favours to guards and prisoners in exchange for preferential treatment.
It spoke of her exchanging sex to feed her illegal potions habit , and even spoke of the fact that she'd pushed for a hasty hush hush abortion in the prison hospital due to a pregnancy from an unknown father, that couldn't be traced as there were simply too many possibilities , even mentioning it had gone badly wrong and she was now unable to have children.
It was as effective a smear campaign as he could imagine.
Her reputation would be ruined , and the others would know the truth.
The photograph didn't lie.
With a sickening lurch he turned to Dumbledore.
The man looked furious.
He knew that he needed to do something , and his role of spy could go hang as far as he was concerned.
The girl hadn't moved , she'd thrown her shields so high she was going to hurt herself.
The students around her moved back with a gasp in panic as the temperature around the girl plummeted dramatically.
They could see their breath in the air.
Her magic was held back with the cuffs, he'd have been worried about another seizure but the cold from her occlumency was breaking free and her there was frost beginning to form on the table around her.
Minerva and Poppy had jumped up , and he'd vaulted over the head table instead of going the long way around , much to the suprised gasps of the students.
When he got to the girl he grabbed her face and saw the colour draining from her eyes , and instantly knocked her out with a spell before she could continue to damage her mind.
Throwing the girl over his shoulder in a firemans lift , he carried her out of the hall and towards the hospital wing.
Poppy followed and Minerva barked at Potter and Weasley to go with her to her office.
They took her into Poppy's private office , and warded the hell out of it.
Then once Poppy had removed her cuffs, he rennervated her and threw up a shield around poppy.
Her magic exploded from her with a power of epic magnitude , and thrashed around the room , freezing cold water spun in vicious arcs around them.
She was panting in panic , unable to catch her breath and desperately trying to throw back up her occlumency shields.
He pulled her into his arms, and joined her mind through their bond, preventing her from putting the shields up.
"P-please"
The broken plea made his heart ache and his blood boil.
"You can't , you'll damage your mind , stay with me Little one"
"I c-can't "
"You can and you will , we will get through this together"
She broke down in his arms , her head buried in his chest and she began to sob.
Harsh broken sobs as her legs gave out from under her.
He didn't fight it, or try to hold her up.
Instead he sank to the floor with her , and just held onto her while she fell to pieces.
The girl had finally stopped sobbing , he didn't know how long he'd held her for , crumpled there on the floor.
Though he knew it had been hours.
She'd cried herself out and was now just holding onto him , occasionally whimpering.
God he wanted to tear that woman apart.
There was a knock on the door , and Poppy nervously went to get it.
He'd thought it would be Minerva, but when Filius walked in he was suprised.
"How is she ?"
He snorted and the girl said nothing.
"Yes...well , stupid question I suppose"
She fisted her hands tighter in his robes, she was clung so closely too him it was as if she was trying to get under his skin.
"I came to warn you...Albus intends to send her back up to Gryffindor tower tonight"
"You can't be serious!"
"I'm afraid I am... he was so angry , ranting and raving of which we've never seen the like and then suddenly he just stopped, and his face became serene like the man we used to know , only his eyes were different...then he simply said it was no matter, that she could have a sick day today and to make sure she got up to the tower before curfew and that he had some work to do"
The girl began shaking in his arms once more so he pulled her closer to him.
"This is madness Filius, he can't expect her to go there tonight , she shouldn't be here at all"
"I agree, Severus but my hinds are tied. If one thing good has come from this , it's that many of the staff were questioning his erratic behaviour"
He sighed , his hands were tied.
Though he wished he could just scoop her up and apparate away with her.
"Potter & Weasley?"
"Minerva took them to her office, she's told them the truth, they'll be there at Gryffindor tower to meet her tonight"
Hissing through his teeth he snapped
"Has she considered that is the last thing that Hermione needs right now ? A confrontation?"
There was only a sad look from Filius.
"She did Severus, Albus wanted her to see them tonight...In case Mr. Potter had any questions"
He could do nothing but growl in responce , and pull the girl closer.
He managed to keep her there with him for the rest of the day.
Despite his efforts she would not eat , and only managed a weak tea.
She didn't let go of him at all , and had taken to following him around silently once more.
She worried the cravat she still wore dissillusioned at her wrist , but he knew she really wanted to scratch them instead.
He was afraid of her relapsing , he knew at a time like this the temptation would be great.
So he made sure to have Poppy tell Minerva , to put extra wards on the tower against certain potions for the time being.
The Gryffindor girls would just have to get what they needed in the hospital wing for now.
Now he knew what it felt like to have the cuffs on , it sickened him every time they put them on her.
She just cried quietly and didn't fight it.
It pained him to see her so defeated , so different from the girl who'd argued her corner about their book not a day before.
The beast inside was howling , foaming at the mouth , wanting to maim and tear.
He wanted to take her and hide her and never let her go.
But he couldn't.
So instead he walked her to the tower and let her go once more.
When she turned her back on him and walked through the portrait , it felt like he was sending her to the gallows.
And his heart along with her.
That night the heads of house called and emergency meeting, they communicated with their rings and met in the room of requirement.
They all agreed that something must be done , and that they would all need to be on top of the students.
Any mockery , or attacks of any kind on the girl were to be met with zero tolerance.
Detentions, Point loss and threat of expulsion if the case were bad enough.
Poppy was to monitor her , and make sure she didn't have access to any painkilling or sedative type potions, and that any other gryffindors who might bring them to her, were to only take potions in the hospital wing.
It was a shit show , but they had to do what they could.
It'd been agreed to bring in someone from the Order on the issue of Dumbledore's instability , someone not tied to the school or to Harry and Ron.
So they'd agreed that Shacklebolt would be the best option.
Minerva had known him longest and would send him a patronus.
Things were about to change at Hogwarts.
Big things.
And they were all uneasy because of it.
AN: Please Review!
