A/N: I'm not exactly crazy about how this one turned out, but it is what it is. I really hope you guys enjoy this one!

Walking down the corridor which led to the courtyard, David Nolan had a hard time concentrating on anything. He tried to join in with Emma and Neal as they discussed the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but his heart just wasn't in it. He and Mary Margaret were fighting yet again. As usual, his friendship with one Kathryn Midas had been called into question.

Mary Margaret had every right to be jealous, he and Kathryn had been friends since they were toddlers and her father still had grand plans of marrying them. However, he had absolutely no interest in the blonde Hufflepuff. Besides Kathryn couldn't keep her eyes off a certain housemate of hers who also happened to be Quidditch Captain.

None of that mattered though, because as long as he remained friends with Kathryn his relationship with Mary Margaret was in jeopardy.

"Come on man you've got to stop mopping," Neal said pulling David from his melancholy thoughts.

"Neal's right," Emma added bumping him with her shoulder. "Mary Margaret will come around. She knows you love her, she just gets jealous."

"I know," David sighed as they broke out into the courtyard. "I just wish it wasn't such a big-" David's words came to halt as he noticed a large crowd gathered around the courtyard. Cursing under his breath, David recognized his brother and Killian standing over a figure.

"Three guesses about who they've cornered," Emma said letting out her own stream of swear words.

David shook his head and led the way over to the mob. He really didn't need to deal with such immaturity on top of everything else today.

The trio walked up as Killian grabbed Rumpelstiltskin's forearm and lowered his wand. "…I don't intend on this being temporary."

David heard a loud cry as Killian released the smaller boy allowing Rumpelstiltskin to fall to the ground. Shoving his way through the crowd, David arrived just in time to watch Rumple's face turn to blank shock as the boy looked down at his forearm. David pushed past the last few people and stalked up to a victorious looking Killian Jones.

"What do you think you're doing Killian," David said as he moved to stand between Rumple and his tormentors.

"Just having a bit of fun mate," the dashing boy replied with mischievous grin.

"You two," David pointed to Killian and his brother, "have a Quidditch game in a few days and you're going to threaten your ability to play for 'a bit of fun?' How thick can you get?"

Before David could continue laying into his friends a strangled sound cut him off. Turning his back on the four troublemakers, David watched as Rumpelstiltskin frantically rubbed his bound arms against his knees. "You bastard," the boy cried out as he examined his arm once more. "Get it off!" Brown eyes brimming with hatred met David's as the Ravenclaw shot a glare Killian.

"Rumple its-" David began.

"Get it off," Rumpelstiltskin shouted again as he struggled to his feet only to be shoved back down by Gaston.

"Lay off," David yelled at the same time Killian sneered, "That's a permanent sticking charm Crocodile. Guess you'll have to get used to it."

Rumpelstiltskin slumped to his knees in defeat with wide desperate eyes as he looked back down to his arm. His movement finally allowed David to get a good look at what Jones had done. Red, irritated skin surrounded the ugly black mark now permanently seared into Rumple's flesh. The dark mark reared its head once more. A rage unlike anything he'd experienced before filled David as he understood what his friend had just done.

"What the hell were you thinking Jones," David growled. The crow collectively let out a startled gasp as David Nolan uttered a swear word. No body dared to move as they watched the Prefect turn to face off against Jones.

"Mate, it's just a laugh-" Jones attempted holding up placating hands.

But the Gryffindor refused to let him finish that sentence. "It's just a laugh? Was it a laugh when Voldemort murdered hundreds of innocent people? Was it a laugh when he ripped apart the lives of two generations? Or maybe you find it funny that some people will never see their families again because of that maniac and his followers." David advanced upon Jones and grabbed the boy's robes roughly.

"I certainly didn't find it funny when my father left us to join him. I still don't find it funny when I think about how he sits rotting away in Azkaban. That mark isn't a fucking joke you immature prick!"

If the fear crossing Jones's expression was anything to go by, David would say that Killian might be rethinking his previous course of action. But then the fool had to open his mouth. "If he'd been born a few years earlier, Gold would have the real thing. Back off David."

The stubborn set of Killian's jaw should have told David it was useless to argue, but he couldn't stop himself. "You think just because his dad joined up that he would have? What do you think of me or James then Killian? Think we're a generation too late to be Death Eaters as well? Or what about your father, didn't he-"

"Shut up," Jones shouted, shoving David off of him. "That bastard killed Eric and Phillip's family and you're going to defend him?"

"Rumpelstiltskin had nothing to do with that. And that doesn't change the fact that you royally screwed up this time Jones." Turning his ire onto his brother, David left Killian. "I'll be writing a lovely letter to our mother about this, James. And having a discussion with your heads of houses. Now don't the rest of you have something better to do?"

In later years David would recall that he'd never seen an assembly of students disappear so quickly. In a matter of moments all that remained in the courtyard were Neal, Emma, Rumpelstiltskin, and himself. Jones and his group had shot several dirty looks and gestures at David before leaving, but finally they were alone.

Neal knelt on the ground next to his cousin releasing the boy's feet, while Emma worked his hands loose. Rumpelstiltskin sat completely shell shock despite the gentle prodding's of his savior's. Running a hand along the back of his neck, David approached the others.

"I've never actually seen Hogwarts students obey an order so quickly," Neal observed as he got to his feet.

"I've never heard David curse before," Emma added as she finally got Rumple's hands free. "I think one kid actually pissed himself," she grinned.

Ignoring their comments, David squatted on the ground next to Rumpelstiltskin. "You okay Rumple?"

The boy didn't move. His eyes remained fixated on the mark.

"We'll see what we can find about removing it," David offered. "Maybe there'll be something in the Restricted Section."

Still Rumpelstiltskin didn't move.

"We need to find Belle," Emma suggested.

That finally got a reaction from the comatose Ravenclaw. "No," Rumple whispered. "She's… we're… just don't bother."

"She'll want to know," David said as he moved to place hand on the other boy's shoulder. However, when Rumpelstiltskin flinched away from the contact, he dropped it quickly. "Let's get you to your common room then."

"I'll be fine on my own," Rumpelstiltskin replied, the usual hostility returning to his voice.

"You might be," David agreed, "but we're still going with you." Extending a hand to help the boy from the ground, David effectively ended the argument.

Dark eyes met blue for a long moment as the two boys had a silent battle of wills. After a long moment, Rumple finally conceded and took David's hand. Hauling the Ravenclaw to his feet, David couldn't help but feel as if something between them had changed. As if, for once, he'd earned a bit of respect from Rumpelstiltskin.

"Well, well, well, it seems Mr. Gold is still alive after all," the now familiar drawling voice called to Rumpelstiltskin as soon as he entered the Headmistress's empty office. "And here I'd thought you'd given up on your days of wrong doing."

Turning to face the occupant of his favorite portrait, Rumple found that he didn't have it in him to reply with his usual snarky attitude. Instead, he faced Snape's painting with shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Come now Severus," Dumbledore chided from his place above the Headmistress's desk. "Don't give the boy a hard time."

Upon seeing the obvious despair in the young man's gaze, Snape eyed Rumpelstiltskin with less than his usual contempt. "Sickle for your thoughts?"

"I'm afraid you'd be overpaying," Rumple quipped half-heartedly.

Unable to hold himself up any longer, the teenager sank to floor in front of the former headmaster. The past few weeks had easily been some of the worst of his life, and they were up against some rather stiff competition. Since pushing Belle away, he'd faced the onslaught of contempt from the student body completely alone. Something he'd once been rather used to. However, his friendship with the bookworm and her uncanny ability to tempt him into social settings had provided Rumpelstiltskin with something he'd never experienced before. Friendship. Before he hadn't known what he'd been missing out on, now though…

Rumpelstiltskin knew that if he still had Belle by his side he'd be able to face the current storm without too much strife. But now, dealing with the outright hatred of Hogwarts's populace alone was slowly killing him.

Student's who'd once concealed their dislike behind avoidance and ignoring him now found it perfectly acceptable to trip him in the halls, shove him as they passed by, knock his books into the floor, throw hexes or curses at him in passing, and overall make his life even more of a living hell. Meanwhile, Jones and his crew had taken Rumpelstiltskin's existence as a personal insult. They made it their mission to avenge the Prince family by doing everything in their power to make Rumple suffer. Providing him with his own Dark Mark had only been the beginning.

He'd held out hope that the hostility would pass, as it usually did, within a week or so. But the article detailing the attack at the Ministry had been followed by three more discussing other atrocities of Malcolm Gold and his Lost Boys. One had even dared to mention that Rumpelstiltskin ought to be brought in for questioning as well.

All in all, the past six weeks left the young man feeling lower than he'd ever felt before. If only he hadn't needed to push away the one person… Shaking his head, Rumple refocused his thoughts. Hopelessness threatened to drown him if he continued thinking in that vein. Belle had to stay safe. To be safe, she had to stay away from him. It was the only way.

Black eyes pierced through the young man as he fought his way through his own misery. "Are you going to mope all night or are you going to talk about it," Snape said unable to hold his tongue any longer.

Rumpelstiltskin's head snapped up at the bluntness of the other man. Shock must have been plainly written on his face because the painting shrugged before continuing. "You can keep your misery locked inside and let it fester and eat at you… Or… You can talk to someone who might understand some of what you're dealing with. Your choice."

"Severus don't be so harsh," Dumbledore exclaimed as he forced his way into the dour man's frame. "These past weeks haven't been kind to our Mr. Gold."

Twinkling blue eyes looked down on him kindly, mixing oddly with the hard, black gaze of the man beside him. The pair (oddly enough) created an oddly comforting picture for the dejected young Ravenclaw. Taking a deep breath, Rumpelstiltskin told the two headmasters his sorry tale. He began with the summer visit from his father and ended with the latest Prophet write up that claimed he had some vestige in his father's endeavors. Conveniently, he left out all mention of the brown-haired beauty whose presence he missed more than any.

One of the other portraits let out a low whistle alerting Rumple to the fact that the entire office was listening to him. Flushing brightly, Rumple lowered his head until he could hide behind curtains of hair.

"You've left something out," Snape said after a long silence.

Rumpelstiltskin's gaze slipped up to the other man's, uncertain of how to proceed. "No, I haven't," he lied.

"Yes, you have. People like you don't fall apart because of a little bad publicity and hardship. There's something more."

"Severus, Mr. Gold has plenty of reason to be upset," Dumbledore began, but Rumpelstiltskin cut him off quickly.

"You don't know the first thing about 'people like me,'" Rumple growled as he picked up his cane and levered himself to his feet. He wasn't sure where the anger was coming from, but it boiled inside him at Snape's insinuation.

The infamous sneer of the Slytherin followed Rumpelstiltskin's movements, as the young man began to pace across the office. "I know plenty," Snape replied.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!" Rumpelstiltskin bellowed. "You and the others who fought for so long to bring peace to the wizarding world only to find that it isn't possible. People just suck like that. They don't know when or how to hold on to something good. You spent your whole life fighting for a cause that just wasn't worth it. Look at the shit hole you people left for us. Sure, Voldemort's gone, but the old prejudices remain. There may be good and bad in every house, but it still matters what you're born. How can anything good come from a lineage of so much evil?" Rumpelstiltskin found himself out of breath as he paused in his berating of the painting.

Dumbledore looked at him with a face full of sadness that felt somehow ageless. As if the old man knew exactly what Rumple was talking about. But Snape's face held something too much like disappointment for Rumpelstiltskin's taste.

"You think either of us died for something as trivial as peace?" Snape asked in a quiet hiss. "That anyone who gave their lives to stop Voldemort hoped that doing so would ensure a bit of quiet for a few years?"

Confusion tempered the teen's anger for a moment. "What else?" he asked.

The two paintings shared a look before Dumbledore gestured for Snape to continue. The Potion's Master took what appeared to be a calming breath before starting again. "The Order of the Phoenix was formed to stop Voldemort and to bring justice to the overly corrupt Ministry. But I never fought for the Order alone and neither did any of the others. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black wanted to protect the family they had left and to fight against the unjust system that ran our country. The Weasley's fought for one another, but also to protect the muggleborns and muggles they valued as people. Potter wanted to protect the people he cared about and because facing Voldemort was the right thing to do."

A long pause allowed Snape's words to permeate the room. Surprisingly it was Dumbledore who spoke next. "I wanted to right the wrongs of my own past. To ensure that every student with a drop of magical blood had the same opportunity to enter our world. And because I allowed Riddle to become Voldemort. I could have stepped in when he was a boy or forced Headmaster Dippet to see the truth. But I believed too much in second chances. I was too hopeful."

Rumpelstiltskin didn't know how to handle the information being thrown at him. Having his world altered was an unsettling experience. He'd had a jaded view of the world for so long… "What about you?" he asked turning his attention back to Snape. "Why did you fight?"

Snape eyed him for several seconds before answering. "I let myself get carried away by my own idealism, my own desperation for some control or power over my wretched life. In the end, my foolishness cost me my best friend. The only woman I ever loved died because of my idiocy. I could have fought harder to hold onto her, I should have fought harder." The professor took a long shuddering breath. "I didn't want anyone else to watch someone they loved die. To know that they were the cause of that death. I swore to protect her child, but also the students of Hogwarts. So that they might never be forced to make the same choices I made."

The truth of the man's words resonated deeply with Rumpelstiltskin. He wanted control of his own life so badly. The freedom to make his own choices, away from his father's shadow and name. Which was why he found himself fighting so hard to protect a person he didn't even like. A person he hated. At least that way he had a choice. By refusing to hurt Killian, he was refusing to work for his father. The only other choice in his life was to keep Belle safe. And that one certainly hadn't been any fun.

"There's a girl," Rumpelstiltskin whispered before he'd fully given his mouth permission to speak.

Dumbledore visibly brightened at that admission. And, unless Rumple was mistaken, even Snape's mouth tugged up a little at the corner.

"Of course, there is!" The eldest man said clapping his hands together.

Snape wore a smug expression that had Rumpelstiltskin rolling his eyes. "What's the issue with her?" the Slytherin asked.

"We… we can't," Rumple stumbled as he tried to properly explain his situation. "My father threatened her," he sighed finally. The stunned silence that met his words confirmed his suspicion that he still had the attention of every portrait in the room. "When I met him over the summer. He gave me a target. Another student in the school, one I very much dislike. He wants me to 'rough the kid up' if necessary to keep a family member in line."

"We need to have a discussion with Blue," Dumbledore interrupted abruptly, starting to move out of the frame.

"No!" Rumple shouted in a panic. Realizing that he'd just yelled at the portrait of the most respected wizard of his time, he blushed slightly before ploughing ahead. "I can't tell her. It will only be worse if they know. And it's Belle who'll pay. He can do whatever he wants with me, but I couldn't… if he hurt her…" Rumple's eyes found the floor as he gathered himself together.

"What does she think about this?" Snape asked cautiously.

"She doesn't know."

"It might be worth your while to talk with her," the Potion's Master advised. "She deserves to make her own choices."

Footsteps on the stairs alerted the room of the Headmistress's approach. "Please," he begged the portraits, "please, don't say anything. I can handle being alone. I can't handle him hurting someone else to get to me. If we aren't friends anymore then he has no one to use against me. No way to force me."

Dumbledore's reluctant nod was followed by similar agreements from around the room. Snape's eyes narrowed as he met the eyes of the desperate young man once more. A brief nod was all Rumple received before the door flew open and Blue once again berated him for his use of "dark magic."

Accustomed to her derisive tone and general dislike though he was, even Rumpelstiltskin was surprised by the venom of her accusations this time. He and Thomas Hermann had been in yet another scuffle. It didn't matter that he'd been defending himself as best he could. Apparently blowing up a school statue wasn't acceptable under any circumstances.

Accepting his weeks-worth of detentions, Rumple began limping from the room. As he once more made his way past Snape's portrait, the painting gave him the smallest of smiles. The look of approval on the man's face meant more to Rumpelstiltskin than anything he could have imagined.

Perhaps he could find a little hope somewhere along the line. Perhaps he could find something that was worth fighting for as well.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry for the lack of Belle these past two chapters. We will be seeing her again very, very soon. And she will probably have a lot to say! As usual, I'm still accepting prompts at any time, so please feel free to comment or review and let me know what you think. See you guys in the next chapter!