It was late and the children sat alone in the Gryffindor Common Room, squabbling in hushed voices. The girl with long brown hair and deep brown eyes had a determined glint in her eyes. Her glint was matched by a petrified glace from the chubby blonde haired boy.

"We have to go," the girl told him in a shrill voice. "She could freeze to death in that shack. Hagrid's not here. There's no one to check on her. She has no heat and she probably hasn't been fed. We can't just leave her there."

"Cassie, there is a blizzard outside," the boy replied, still looking terrified. "We could freeze to death just walking down to the shack. At least she has shelter."

"So we should just leave her there to die?" Cassie demanded. "You know that Headmaster Potter won't do anything for her. Sometimes I think he wants her to die. We can't leave her, Frank. I'm going to take her some blankets and cast a warming spell on the shack. It's not much, but it's the best I can do. Ella is our friend, and I won't leave her alone in this storm. I'm going rather you come with me or not."

Doing nothing to hide her anger, Cassie jumped from the sofa and started up the stairs to retrieve her cloak. How could Frank be so selfish? Ella was their friend and she needed their help. Her life at Hogwarts was horrible; Frank knew that. They couldn't just leave her to freeze and starve. In her opinion, Frank was acting far more like a Slytherin than a Gryffindor. His parents would not be proud of that.

Being careful not to wake her roommates, she grabbed her cloak from the floor and hurried back downstairs. She hated sharing a room. It was so much nicer when she was home, with her own room.

When she returned to the common room, she was surprised to find Frank waiting for her, buried beneath a large coat, a less than attractive hat, and bulgy mittens. She couldn't suppress the smile that was spreading across her face or the relief that was flowing through her veins. The storm seemed less menacing when she realized that she wouldn't have to brave it alone.

"You decided to come?" she asked trying to sound detached, as though it didn't really matter.

The chubby boy shrugged as he replied, "I realized I couldn't leave you or Ella to face the storm alone. I know neither of you would do that to me."

Cassie threw her arms around her friend. She should have known that Frank would never let her down. After all, he was her best friend. They had known each other since they were small children and he had never let her down before.

"Maybe we should stop by the kitchens," Cassie suggested as they climbed through the portrait hole. "I'm sure Ella will be hungry. The headmaster only feeds her enough to keep her alive. I don't understand why he's allowed to treat her like that. The Ministry should do something."

"The Ministry doesn't do anything about anything. I don't know why my father has to work there. It's just a joke," he reminded her as they walked through the deserted halls of Hogwarts castle. "I've always wondered why he treats her so badly, though. You know Harry, Cassie. He's as close to your parents as he is mine. I've known him all my life and, with the exception of Ella, I have never seen him act cruelly towards anyone."

"I don't care what excuse he has," Cassie snapped as they approached the kitchens. "Nothing gives him the right to abuse her like that. I know she's a slave, but he treats the house elves far better than he does her. I think someone should do something about it."

"Please, tell me that you don't want someone to be us," Frank replied with a worried expression.

Annoyance flared inside Cassie. Why didn't Frank realize how much Ella needed help? Did he really not care what happened to her? Before she could chastise him for his selfish attitude, they were interrupted by a small elf wearing neon orange socks on his ears.

"Hello, Dobby," she greeted the elf.

"Hello, Ms. Cassie and Mr. Frank," Dobby replied cheerfully. "Out of bed again? What would you likes Dobby to get you from the kitchens tonight? There is eclairs and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies."

"It's such a cold night, Dobby," she told him. "How about some chicken soup?"

"Yes, miss," Dobby jumped up and down in excitement. "Dobby will make it for you right now, miss." With that said the elf hurried away.

"That elf is so creepy sometimes," Frank muttered. "He's just so…I don't know."

"He's like that because he was abused," Cassie told him, in an exasperated voice. "I heard he used to serve an evil family. Apparently, his master went insane and was killed during the war against Voldemort."

"Who told you that?"

"Jamie Thomas."

"Jamie Thomas hasn't had a fact right yet," Frank muttered. "I think they're going to hold him back. Can you imagine failing your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Mum would kill me," Cassie admitted, "and Dad would be so ashamed."

A few seconds later, Dobby returned with the soup. With a quick thank you, Cassie patted the elf on the head.

With soup in hand, the two young Gryffindors opened the main door to be greeted by howling wind and blowing snow. The snow was already up to their knees and it was still coming down in full force. Clearly, they were not in for a pleasant trip.

"Why don't we just send an owl with blankets and soup?" Frank suggested, glancing nervously at the storm. "We'll never make it the shack in this."

"Well, I'm going to try," Cassie told him stubbornly. "I won't leave her alone in this."

Angrily, she pushed forward into the miserable night. However, she heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Frank's footsteps behind her. As reluctant as he was, he always came through when it mattered.

The storm was fierce. The whipping wind caused their eyes to water and their flesh to pain. Even with both their wands lit, they could see only a few inches in front of them. The rest of the world was buried in white. It was fortunate they were so familiar with the path leading to Ella's shack, just beside the Forbidden Forest. Otherwise, they would have become hopelessly lost.

Simply walking was difficult. Their feet became stuck in the thick snow and it felt as through they were frozen. But despite Frank's incessant whining, Cassie would not give up. She was determined to get to her friend and nothing was going to stop her. Ella had no one else.

When they finally reached the tiny building, they stumbled inside without knocking. The shack consisted of one bare room. Ella was given nothing. She was huddled in the far corner of the room wearing robes that were little more than rags. Her long black hair hung around her shoulders in knots; and traces of grey could be seen in her tangled locks.

As Cassie barged into the freezing cold room, Ella glanced up at her with her black eyes. Instantly, she jumped to her feet and rushed to the children, wrapping them in her arms.

"What on earth are you two doing out here?" she demanded, still holding them tightly. "You're both going to get sick."

"We were worried about you," Cassie told her. "We knew you were here alone and that you wouldn't have food or heat. I wanted to bring you something to eat and some blankets."

"You shouldn't have done this," Ella told her, as she pulled the small girl closer. "You could have become lost in the storm. I would have never forgiven myself if something had happened to you."

Pulling away, Cassie studied the fragile woman in front of her. Again, she wondered how the great Harry Potter could treat another human being this way. All throughout the wizarding world, Harry was known as a good and kind man. How could he have such a reputation when his own slave was near death because of the way he cared for her?

"I couldn't have forgiven myself if something happened to you," she said at last. "I was worried you would freeze to death."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ella managed a slight smile as she replied, "You're both very sweet to care, but I never want either of you to do something like this again. Your lives are worth far more than mine."

Cassie chose to ignore the comment, mainly because she didn't wish to promise that she wouldn't repeat the evening's escapade. The truth was that she would do it again. As far as she was concerned, Ella's life had great worth and she would go to great lengths to protect it.

She cast a quick warming spell on the soup and then offered it, along with the blankets, to Ella.

"Thank you," Ella replied, excepting the offering. "Now you should both get back to the castle. You should be in your warm beds."

"I was hoping we could stay with you," Cassie told her.

"Sweetie, it's an iceberg in here. I am very grateful for the soup and blankets, but I want you to go back to the heated school."

"But then we'll have to go back through the blizzard," Frank spoke for the first time. "If we stay with you, we can all stay under the blankets. Cassie and I can cast warming charms. We'll be fine til morning. This way we can help keep you warm and we won't have to face the storm again."

"You shouldn't have been out in the storm in the first place," Ella muttered. "You should be asleep in your warm, safe dorms."

"And then you would have been left here all alone, freezing and starving," Cassie told her. "Frank and I didn't want that. Now will you allow us to spend the remainder of the night with you or are you going to cast us back into the storm?"

"Of course, you may stay," Ella muttered, shaking her head in annoyance. "At least, you're protected from the snow here."

With that said the three of them huddled beneath the blankets. Cassie cuddled close to Ella and she could hear her friend sipping soup as she fell into a sound sleep.

The next morning they were awakened by the sound of the shack's door swinging opened. They all jumped at the sound and glanced towards the door to see the intruder. When they saw the headmaster glaring at them, they knew they were in trouble.

"Well, well," Harry began. "It would appear that we have a problem here. Miss Lupin, Mr. Longbottom, I want you both to report to my office at once. This matter must be dealt with."