38. Changing Perceptions

When October arrived, Ella happily put away her cane, shipped the potions case back to Sulis Minerva Hospital, and went on with her life. She was still required to try out for the House quidditch team, but she failed miserably in every position, which she honestly didn't find that disappointing. Flying through the air on nothing but a broomstick wasn't her idea of a good time.

She quickly caught up in the classes in which she'd been unable to complete practical exams and happily prepared her own potions ingredients, rather than guessing which slugs were cut on the forty-five degree angle. In all, she was happy. She wasn't popular really—Vivianne remained her only true friend outside of her "sisters," and classes weren't simple, but she was able, with hard work, to stay caught up.

She'd only received two other tributes after the tapestry; one was a beautiful set of dress robes made of the finest material, the other a bracelet made of small, highly polished stones that caught even the smallest beam of light and sparkled. She'd sent back letters and gifts of her own—the very old book of etiquette she'd found on a dusty shelf in the library had given her ideas of what was appropriate. The robes had gone to the back of her wardrobe until an appropriate time. The bracelet she'd added to her jewelry box, though it didn't stay there very long, since it very quickly became her favorite piece of jewelry to wear. The first tribute she received, the tapestry from Rhys, she'd intended to hide away, but Moira had come into the room before she could stash it. So now the four-foot high tapestry of Hogwarts, complete with sleeping dragon, was the pride of the Eagle's Nest.

The only thing that marred her new life was the group of boys from Gryffindor House who'd marked her as an easy target for teasing the first day of classes. Ella never found out exactly why they'd picked her, but she put up with a near-constant stream of petty bullying. Meagan's advice to ignore them until they went away didn't seem to be working, either. They just kept upping the ante to get a reaction out of her. Of course, they didn't know that she'd withstood a great deal more than they could ever dish out, but Ella wasn't going to tell them.

XxX

The first quidditch game of the year was played between Slytherin and Hufflepuff. It was a beautiful fall day, with the sun shining and the scent of autumn in the light breeze. The game was well-played, fast-moving, and high-scoring. Ella had enjoyed watching, and she followed the lead of the other Ravenclaws, cheering for good plays rather than a specific team. With that logic, you could leave happy, no matter who won. Ella was following her Housemates down the long stairs from the Ravenclaw upper stands when she realized that she'd left her scarf at her seat.

"I have to go back. I'll see you at the castle," she called to Moira, who looked back, pulling her hair out of her face as the wind tugged it loose from the hair tie she used.

"That's fine. Hurry though—Opal got some goodies from her mum, and she's going to share."

Ella waved in reply and turned to make her way back up the steps, winding her way past the others working their way down. When she reached the open stands they were empty, and she paused to look at the view over the grounds. The students heading back to the school looked small as ants to her eyes. In the other direction, the trees in the Forbidden Forest were adding their fall colors. A cooler breeze brushed the back of her neck and she shivered.

She climbed up to the bench where she'd watched the quidditch game, but her scarf wasn't anywhere to be found. She heard a noise behind her and spun to see her tormentors standing in a loose half-circle between her and the exit. A finger of fear worked its way down her spine, but Ella was determined to ignore it. A flutter of cloth caught her attention—it was her scarf, held in the hand of the leader of the group, Ralf. Ella squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She'd known she'd have to face them down eventually but had hoped the confrontation would happen somewhere where she could get help if things got out of hand. She slowly walked down the stairs to meet Ralf. He didn't move, but Ella heard the footsteps of the other boys as they closed the circle behind her.

"Thank you," she said, holding out her hand to him.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"My scarf," Ella said, still holding out her hand. "Thank you for finding it for me."

"Oh, is this yours?" he said in surprise. "Well, here you are then." He held it out as though her was going to hand it to her, but at the last moment, he threw over her head to another boy. Ella spun to face him, but before she could even ask him to return her scarf, he threw it back to Ralf, laughing at her attempt to catch it in the air. And so it went, back and forth between the four boys, Ella trying not to spin like a top. She managed to catch an end of the scarf in her hand and pulled it towards her, but that was a mistake. She didn't have the strength to pull the scarf out of the boy's hand. Instead, she was pulled off balance, which he took advantage of by suddenly letting go of his end of the scarf. She fell backwards, but the hands that caught her sent her stumbling in another direction. This new amusement was highly entertaining for all four boys, and they tightened their circle to push her faster, laughing and cheering each other on. As Ella frantically tried to stay on her feet the scarf fell forgotten to the ground. She bit her lip, trying not to cry out as their shoves grew harder, but her silence only encouraged them. The circle had slowly edged across the platform until Ralf had his back to the stairs. When Ella was pushed towards him, he stepped aside and, with a burst of laughter from all four boys, he gave her an extra push to send her tumbling down the stairs.

A scream escaped her as she was suddenly thrust through the dark opening. Go limp, she told herself, remembering other falls down other stairs. Stay limp. She tried to relax her muscles to minimize damage, but the first crashing blow on the long tumble made her tense up as pain shot up through her shoulder. She rolled and tumbled down several of the switchbacks before her momentum slowed enough for her to catch a railing with one hand. She lay dazed and trembling in the dimness, trying to feel without moving what had been bruised or broken, fighting to regain her breath. A light shone down on her from a wand held farther up the stairs. Four heads leaned over the banister to look at her.

"Oh, shit," Ralf said, "let's get out of here." The boys started down the stairs, and as they passed her, the last one in line stopped and looked down at her.

"We can't just leave her here like this," he protested. "What if she's really hurt?"

"Great idea, Bobby," Ralf said sarcastically. "Let's go tell someone that we pushed her down the stairs and see what happens." He pushed Bobby ahead of him as they ran down the stairs.

XxX

Snape had left the quidditch game just after the final whistle had signaled Slytherin's victory. He made it almost to the doors of the castle when a feeling of danger washed over him. He spun quickly, surveying the grounds and people near him, but nothing seemed out of place. The feeling came again, drawing his eye back to the quidditch pitch. Mithrandir walked up as he was scanning the crowds of people walking back to the castle.

"What is it?" Mithrandir asked quietly. "Is something wrong?"

Snape didn't answer him at first. Instead he used a spell to see the field and stands more clearly.

"Well?" Mithrandir asked again. "Is something amiss?"

"That depends," Snape said, starting back to the quidditch pitch. "Do you find anything troubling about four boys from Gryffindor being alone in the Ravenclaw stands with a single female?"

"That depends," Mithrandir said, matching Snape stride for stride. "If they are asking for tutoring in a school subject, there is nothing wrong. But the remoteness of the location, the fact that the boys are not where they belong, and the fact they have her alone, do suggest a problem."

The two professors were not running across the grounds, but their long strides covered the distance as fast as some others' sprint could keep up. They were still a dozen yards away when Snape was seized by a sudden sense of doom. A scream reached them, but it was quickly cut off, in a way that both men, veterans of conflict, recognized as true trouble. They ran the last steps to the stairs and arrived just in time to intercept four very guilty-looking Gryffindors.

"Stay right where you are," Mithrandir snapped at the boys, while Snape entered the stairwell. He found Ella still laying on the steps, though she had managed to right herself.

"Miss Dafydd, are you hurt?" Snape asked.

She shook her head and whispered, "Nothing's broken, I think. I just can't catch my breath."

Snape took out his wand and carefully scanned Ella. She was badly bruised in places, and certainly shaken, but she had been right; nothing was broken. He helped her to sit up, and when he saw her breathing had steadied somewhat, he assisted her down the stairs. Mithrandir was still waiting with the culprits outside the stands. Snape ignored them for a moment while he conjured a bench for Ella. When she was settled, he turned to the boys.

"Do you find it amusing to knock people down stairs and leave them?" he said, his voice dangerously quiet. Mithrandir turned to face him.

"This was intentional?" he asked calmly.

Snape gestured for Ella to respond, and the girl nodded, and said very quietly, "I don't know if was their original plan, but Ralf did push me down the stairs. It was his idea to leave me there, as well."

Ralf moved to protest, but Mithrandir cut him off. "It is reprehensible that you would treat anyone this way, but to gang up on a girl who is younger and smaller than all of you is despicable." All four boys seemed to wilt under his displeasure.

Snape was content to stand back and watch as Mithrandir continued with his diatribe. Not only did he bring up all of the topics Snape would have covered himself, he also berated them strongly for the unchivalrous action of the strong attacking the weak and defenseless. By the time he paused for breath, there was no doubt that they would be in detention at least the entire month, if not longer, and the number of points they'd lost rivaled anything the Weasley twins or even the golden Gryffindor Trio had managed. No doubt about it, these would be the most hated people in the house by the end of the night. Not only was that highly satisfying to Snape, he also had the knowledge that no one would question the action, because it hadn't come from him; it was all Mithrandir's doing.

The other professor was winding down his lecture when one very cowed boy looked up and paled.

"Professor," he whispered in warning, "behind you, from the forest!"

Both Snape and Mithrandir spun to see a line of dark figures advancing across the grounds from the Forbidden Forest.

Without a word, Mithrandir and Snape moved shoulder-to-shoulder between the students and the menacing figures. They threw up powerful shields around the five children and sent a large fountain of red sparks high up into the air.

"Don't move," Snape hissed at the students. "We can't cover you if you split up. Stay still, and don't try to fight them."

The fight was very uneven. There were twenty Death Eaters facing two teachers, and they not only had to defend themselves but protect five innocents, who could very easily become victims, as well. From the distance they could hear the shouts of the faculty and older students as they raced to the rescue, but it would take them time to reach the quidditch pitch.

"Give yourself up, Snape, and we'll let the others go!" called one of the masked figures.

"As though we could ever believe the word of a Death Eater!" Mithrandir yelled back.

The spells few thick and furious, nearly overwhelming the two professors. One nasty cutting spell got through Mithrandir's guard, leaving a deep gash down his face and across his shoulder. Snape dodged several crushing hexes, but a powerful stunner caught him from the side and knocked him to the ground dazed, though not unconscious. He heard Ella's panicked scream as his half of the shield fell away, leaving them unprotected. Mithrandir stepped forward and doubled his efforts to shield not only the students, but now Snape as well from the hexes aimed their way. Thankfully, the spells that got through were slowed enough by the shield that the students could dodge or duck the streams of light. When the other professors charged across the field, the Death Eaters sent one last sally of spells and hexes, then ran back into the Forbidden Forest.

Madame Pomfrey was called to check all seven, before deciding if they could go or if they needed the hospital. She was furious at the bruises Ella had and would have launched a lecture of her own, but Dumbledore cut her off before she could begin.

"I believe the boys have already received detention and lost a large number of points before the attack. I think they've been through enough for today, though"—he fixed the boys with a reproving glare over his glasses—"you will report for your assigned detention tonight. None of you were injured, so you are not excused from your punishment."

The boys slunk away, already the victims of glares and other nasty looks from the older Gryffindor students who had raced to their rescue moments before.

It was decided that Mithrandir and Snape would be transported to the hospital, over the protestations of both.

As they were loaded onto stretchers, Ella stepped close and spoke softly, "Thank you both for what you did." She turned and made her way back to Ravenclaw Tower alone.

Once they were settled in beds in the hospital and Pomfrey had gone away, Snape ignored his aching side to lean over and look at Mithrandir.

"I don't know why you didn't just toss me at them, even if it only provided a momentary distraction," he said conversationally.

Mithrandir turned his head. "As I told the boys, I don't like bullies."

Snape laughed incredulously, "And that's what the Dark Lord is to you, a bully?"

"One that has had far too long with no one standing up to him. He holds power through fear and threats, the people who follow him do so to save their own skins or to achieve power through associating with him, and he runs from direct confrontation, leaving his followers to do his dirty work for him. Yes, I'd call him a bully," Mithrandir said.

All Snape could do in reply was laugh, imagining the great Lord Voldemort as nothing more than a school yard bully, shaking children upside down to steal their lunch money.

XxX

Ralf Mertwin, Bobby Kanley, Ethan Ewen, and Adam Vintorsny were given detention until Christmas vacation. Filch gleefully assigned them the most odious maintenance tasks the school had to offer. So it was that the four boys had to scrub the floor of the owlry, scrape the slime off the walls in the lowest dungeons, and clean up the mud tracked into the entryway. All without magic of course, and on a consistent basis. It was too bad for them that the weather that year was the muddiest Hogwarts had ever seen; the lowest dungeons developed several new cracks in the mortar, which allowed in more seeping water, which grew the slime even faster; and there was a sharp increase in the delivery of mail to the school. Of course, Snape had absolutely nothing to do with any of that, though his potions cabinet had never been better stocked, his stacks of potions journals had never been more up to date, and he had been seen walking through the halls with a smirk on his face whenever it rained or snowed a little more.

XxX

A/N: This was a hard chapter to write because Mithrandir just didn't want to become a nice, helpful guy. Hopefully this puts him on the path in that direction because I need him later, and if he's still being a jerk, no one will want his help. Now, if he will just agree with my ideas, we'll be good to go. Hope you enjoyed!