All eyes were on Apollo as he made his way down the corridor towards the Great Hall. Word had spread about how he had punched Blaise Zabini and even though Apollo had punched many other students, everyone seemed to be much more focused on this specific event. The Petrou boy didn't quite know why as in his mind, Blaise was no better than anyone else, yet perhaps he was the only one who thought so.

The other students stood far away from Apollo, letting the boy have plenty of room as they whispered to their friends, glancing at the him wearily. Apollo rolled his eyes at that. Even though he did get into fights often, it was only with those who warranted it. He wouldn't hit someone for no reason. However, the students at Hogwarts didn't seem to realize that as no one got within reaching distance of the boy.

Apollo huffed in annoyance as he sat down at the Hufflepuff table for breakfast. Cassius Hughes whom was sat across from him, glanced up as the boy made his presence known. He quickly realized that quite a few students were glancing at Apollo and sharing whispers with their neighbours and he didn't appreciate the looks he was also receiving for being so near the unstable Petrou.

“Where are you going?” Apollo asked Cassius, confused as the other boy got up and made his way further down the Hufflepuff table.

“I'd rather not get stared at and rumored about all day so I'll be sitting by myself this morning.” He answered, before sitting down and promptly ignoring Apollo.

“Do what you please, Cassius. I couldn't care less.” Apollo muttered in response, however, the boy didn't hear him as he was already far out of hearing distance.

Apollo ate his breakfast in silence, stuffing some beans and toast into his mouth as he attempted to ignore the looks he received. His aggravation was only growing by the minute, not understanding why everyone was suddenly so interested in his life. He was simply eating breakfast just like any other student, how exciting was that? Oh, Apollo seems to be avoiding the meat - is he a vegetarian? Alert the Daily Prophet! It was utterly ridiculous.

A letter landing on his lap brought Apollo into the present, having been so preoccupied in thoughts of anger that he hadn't even noticed the owls flying in, doing their daily mail delivery. The Petrou boy frowned as he looked down at the envelope which had his name, written nearly in cursive. He had just sent Hermes off yesterday with a letter, his grandparents wouldn't have already written back so soon. Even if they did, Hermes knew better than to come swooping into the Great Hall. His curiosity getting the better of him, Apollo opened the envelope, only to discover that the letter had been sent by his brother, Ares Petrou.

Dear Brother,

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while; life has been crazy over here in Bristol. I've gotten a new job as a receptionist at this small company and while it's nowhere near where I'd like to be, everyone has to start somewhere. Also, do you remember Beatrice? I believe I introduced you two the last time you came to visit. She was my girlfriend at that time but since then I have proposed and she is now my future wife. We haven't set a date yet but of course we would be thrilled if you could attend.

How have you been? You're in your what, third year at Hogwarts now? How is that going, have you been keeping up with your studies? I remember third year being a particularly exciting year for me. You have been keeping my whereabouts a secret haven't you? I don't even want to imagine what grandmother and grandfather would do to me if they found me out.

Oh, and have you talked to Artemis? I tried to visit her the other week but they wouldn't let me as I refused to disclose my true identity. I worry about her, Apollo. Sometime could you please go check on her? I don't even want to imagine how the dementors are treating her.

I can't wait to hear from you: with love,
Ares Petrou

Apollo read the note from his brother with a disinterested expression. The note held nothing of importance, just the usual of him describing his life in the muggle world and how apparently he now had a fiance. Apollo wasn't too happy to hear about that but in the end it was Ares’ life and he could do what he wanted, although Apollo would still try his hardest to intercept their impending marriage.

The Hufflepuff's jaw clenched as he read over the part about Artemis. His sister had always been a soft spot for him as he hated what happened to her and knew it wasn't her fault in the slightest. He wished he could seek revenge on her behalf and perhaps one day he would. A bitter taste was present in Apollo's mouth as he thought about how truly messed up the Petrou family was.

“I can't believe you actually punched Blaise.” A high pitched voice sounded from behind him, Apollo turning his body around to be met with the sight of blonde hair and hardened blue eyes. He noticed that Daphne was staring at him expectantly, her arms crossed and brows raised, waiting for the boy to respond.

“He was being a major prat.” Apollo explained simply, his face having darkened at the mention of the Slytherin which he had now vowed to loathe.

The Greengrass girl sighed in exasperation as she flopped down beside Apollo, picking up some leftover bread on his plate before popping it into her mouth. “You can't just go around socking everyone who pisses you off, Apollo.” She explained simply once she finished eating Apollo's food.

Said boy glared at the female next to him as she called him by his real name. The Greengrass family had always been close with the Petrous and it had always been expected that the two would join together in matrimony. Therefore, it was only expected that Daphne had known of his true name. She never understood why he hated it so much and always used his real name rather than the name he went by at whatever chance she got.

Apollo didn't respond verbally, opting to instead grumble under his breath about annoying Slytherins, including both Blaise and Daphne respectively.

Daphne shook her head, knowing there was no talking sense into Apollo, especially when it came to fighting. “Anyway,” she started, briskly changing the topic. “Are you going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?”

Apollo shrugged non-committedly, not caring whether or not he went to the small village where the Hogwarts Express departed and arrived. “Depends if the story reaches any of the teachers.” As far as Apollo could tell, it hadn't so far but that didn't mean it wouldn't as people seemed to take much more interest in Apollo punching Blaise Zabini than when Apollo had punched other students.

Daphne frowned, not wanting to visit Hogsmeade without her friend. Perhaps if he stayed out of trouble for the day, and no teacher found out about him punching Blaise, he would be free to go. “You think you're going to punch someone today?”

Apollo scoffed at the ridiculous question. He thought Daphne would know him better than that by now. “It's inevitable.” He deadpanned, paying no attention to the way Daphne rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“I want no part in it.” She replied back, standing up while brushing off her green lined robes just in case any crumbs had fallen from her little snack. “If you somehow manage to squirm your way out of detention, then I'll meet you on the courtyard steps.” The blonde haired girl gave one more nod at Apollo before picking her bag up from where she had dropped it on the bench, leaving the Great Hall briskly, her ponytail swinging as she went.

Apollo paid no mind to the girl as she left, instead opening up the letter from his brother and reading it once more. He stood up with a sigh, pocketing the envelope but not before a Slytherin boy walked past, noticing that Apollo had been holding a family letter.

“Is your mummy warning you about Sirius Black?” The dark haired boy teased, obviously having gotten the idea for that taunt from Zabini as it ultimately held the same presence.

Apollo scowled at the boy who was a few inches shorter than himself. The Petrou had no idea of the boy's name or even which year he resided in, only recognizing that the boy was in Slytherin due to that house crest emblazoned on his robes. “Mind your business, punk.”

The Slytherin boy sniggered, obviously not finding Apollo all that intimidating. It seemed that since Blaise Zabini had stood up to him, others seemed to think they could do the same. It would be good for them to remember how that had worked out for Zabini.

“You looking for trouble?” Apollo asked rhetorically as he tensed, fists clenched by his sides as he prepared himself for a fight, forgetting that he was still in the Great Hall surrounded by many students and teachers.

The shorter boy raised his chin in defiance as he smirked at Apollo, even though both knew Apollo would crush him in a fight. “I'm not going to waste my time on the likes of you.” The boy responded snootily, before walking away, leaving the Petrou agitated and ready for a fight. The Slytherin was lucky that Daphne and Cassius’ words echoed in Apollo's head reminding him not to fight. So instead Apollo simply let out a deep breath and stormed out of the Great Hall, glaring at anyone who looked at him sideways.

Apollo went through the entire day of his classes, ignoring the whispers and stares that he still received, despite it already haven been almost a full day since he had punched that prat Zabini. During lunch, Apollo had sat along once again as Cassius still refused to sit with him and that with all of the looks he had been getting, set him even more on edge than he had been before. Needless to say, at the end of the day Apollo was simply a ticking time bomb and sooner or later someone was going to end up in his crossfire. That someone just happened to be the same Slytherin boy from breakfast.

The Hufflepuff had been rushing through the halls, wanting to get to his dorm as quickly as possible as it would allow him to finally be alone and free from all the attention. However, the Slytherin boy - whom Apollo still didn't know the name of, not that he cared anyway - seemed to have other ideas as he barged into his shoulder purposefully, snickering at the surprised look on the Petrou's face as he stumbled slightly. “Not so tough eh, Petrou?”

Apollo had been on edge the entire day and that had just been the tip of the iceberg. All thoughts of Cassius and Daphne advising him to not fight flew out of his brain as his vision clouded over with red. He didn't hesitate before socking the boy in the jaw, ignoring the shocked look on the Slytherin's face and instead, using him being distracted to land another blow. Apollo held tightly to the other other boys hair as he reared his head back before forcefully bringing it into Apollo's fist to land twice the damage. The Slytherin stood no chance in fighting back, no matter how hard he tried, as he didn't know the muggle way of fighting like Apollo did, and his wand was out of reach so all he could do was let his arse be handed to him from Petrou, said boy grinning gleefully every time he landed a punch to the Slytherin.

Apollo didn't know how long it had been, perhaps minutes, perhaps hours, but some point in his brawl a student had run off to get a prefect;  Cedric Diggory pulling him off the Slytherin whom was completely unrecognizable at this point a few moments later. Bruises littered his face while blood ran down from every possible direction, all the while Apollo remained virtually unscathed, besides his ripped knuckles and bruised fists.

“Nathaniel!” Cedric yelled out to Apollo as the boy squirmed in the older boy's grasp, wanting to continue beating the Slytherin until he knocked out. “Stop it!”

Some other students helped the Slytherin boy stand, as he held his bloody and most likely broken nose, whining to those around him that Apollo had simply jumped him for no reason.

Apollo grew even angrier at the Slytherin's lie and attempted to kick him before Cedric held him back. So he settled with a glare, spitting out blood at the other boy's feet, whom of which shuffled back in disgust. “Not so tough, eh?” He brought up the Slytherin's earlier words, smirking at the terrified look on his face. “Hiding behind your wand and your words. Yet take away your magic and you're nothing.”

Apollo somehow managed to work his way out of Cedric's grasp and marched off towards the common room, his knuckles bleeding and his head aching. Cedric ran after him and Apollo knew he would face repercussions for his actions. The Petrou boy didn't get into fights as violent as the one that had just occurred often, yet when he did, he had always been faced with detention. However, Apollo had heard word of Cedric's bisexuality and being the master manipulator that he was, Apollo concocted a plan that perhaps would get him out of trouble.

“Nathaniel,” Cedric Diggory's voice was heard throughout the corridor as he ran towards Apollo, not in the least bit out of breath due to his Quidditch training. “Wait up!”

Apollo sighed yet turned around, looking at Cedric expectantly, even though he knew what the elder boy was calling him for.

“We need to talk about your punishment for that fight. Fighting isn't right, you know.” Cedric preached and if Apollo had been alone he would've rolled his eyes, however, he had a show to put on.

“I know, I'm sorry.” He apologized softly, sounding so unlike himself that Apollo almost didn't even recognize that he was the one who had been talking. “But I swear I had a good excuse. Would we be able to talk in private?”

Cedric hesitated but ultimately nodded his head, immediately falling into Apollo's trap as he lead the way into the Hufflepuff common room and towards Cedric's dormitories, Apollo hiding his smirk behind his hand.

Once the two were sat on Cedric's yellow and black adorned bed, Apollo immediately sank into his hands, sniffling as he brought fake tears to his eyes.

“I'm sorry Cedric,” he bawled, said boy immediately feeling bad for the younger student, placing his hand on his back as Apollo's shoulders shook in what Cedric assumed to be sobs yet were actually laughter. “I didn't mean to hit him so much, he just said something about my sister, and she's very sick, you see. I don't know what came over me but suddenly I was hitting him and I don't know why! If I could take it all back I could, I truly am sorry.”

Cedric was surprised at Apollo's confession yet immediately understood why the younger male had become defensive and lashed out, no matter how wrong it had been. “Shh, it’s okay.” He soothed as he rubbed the smaller one's back.

Apollo sniffed as he took his head out of his hands, looking up at Cedric with wide eyes, the fifth year boy finding himself getting lost in the sea of blue.

“You won't tell the Headmaster or Professor Sprout will you? It really was just an accident and I promise it'll never happen again.” Apollo pleaded, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout.

Cedric hesitated, pondering on what he should do. If the boy truly was sorry and vowed to never let it happen again, he didn't see the harm in not informing a professor about what had happened. “I won't tell anyone. But 150 house points will be removed from Hufflepuff.”

Apollo sniffed once more as he nodded his head, making sure to keep a solemn expression at the consequence even though the boy could care less how many points his house gained or lost. Apollo leaned forward and gripped the prefect in a tight hug in gratitude before leaning back slightly until both boys foreheads were touching. “Thank you, Cedric,” he breathed, putting on a show for the male who seemed actually as out of breath as Apollo appeared to be.

Suddenly Cedric was leaning forward and Apollo assumed he would kiss him, and although he had been right, he hadn't expected for it to be on his cheek or as soft and brief as it had been. Apollo smiled and while Cedric assumed it to be from their intimate moment, in reality it was due to the fact that he had completely fooled Cedric into not giving him detention. Cedric Diggory really was the posterboy for Hufflepuff. Daft, simply daft.

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I've been so motivated for this story and I really hope it keeps up! I have the next two chapters planned but after that the updates may slow down a bit as I dont have any ideas on what could happen next. A big thanks to sectumsirius who planned out this chapter and is so in love with Apollo that she convinced me to update earlier than I had been planning to!

What did you guys think of this chapter? About Apollo's rage and his brawl with the Slytherin boy? His friendship with Daphne? His plan to trick Cedric Diggory, and do you think the two will continue on with their certain agreement? Please let me know all your guys' thoughts!