What Goes Up Must Come Down Abandoned

Bullies were a more then familiar subject to Illowy. To her, it had felt like she'd been struggling with them since the first day after the Sorting Ceremony. With prejudice against Slytherins from Pure Blood families so high ever since the Dark Lord fell, Illowy had considered it part of her norm until the day she'd finally fought back. The day still played in her mind like some sort of thrilling reel she couldn't forget; and ever since, aside from a few short conflicts, her bullies had left her alone for the most part. It seemed, at least for now, she'd proven she wasn't afraid to fight back.

Though she did still fear that since she had fought back, she had somehow solidified in their minds that she was everything they believed her to be, all because of the house she was sorted into and her blood status.

The girl readjusted her bag on her shoulder as she quietly passed through the corridors. At least, all was quiet in the emptying halls until she turned the corner and saw a barricade of Gryffindor boys, their's backs to her. Just beyond them, she spotted whom she recognized to be the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain. Though for the life of her she was forgetting the girl's name, she recognized her from watching the match between them and Gryffindor; though honestly Illowy had only even been there to support her cousin, who was the Captain of the opposing team.

Though from afar it may have seemed cowardly, Illowy hung back, watching from around the corner. For the life of her, she didn't want to get herself into another fight and hopefully the boys would lay off... but the moment one of the boys put his hands on the other girl and shoved her, Illowy's spark was lit as she emerged from around the corner. Like a ghost, the girl moved quietly, pale blue eyes cold and hard.

Illowy was directly behind the assumed leader, her quiet nature creating the illusion almost as though she appeared out of no where, "Lay one more hand on her, and you'll regret it." she spoke in a low, chilling voice. Illowy may not have been a so-called 'social butterfly', but she wasn't the sort either to turn a blind eye to someone in trouble; especially with such unfair odds.

How many times had someone seen the cruelty coming unto her and turned the other way? Ignored her? Pretended they hadn't noticed? Illowy had long since repressed the number. But she had promised herself that she would never be that sort of person. Even if her house was known for their need for self preservation, Illowy didn't doubt that she could survive anything these boys could conceive to throw at her. She didn't know the meaning of backing down. She had too much pride for that.

Saskia had considered shoving them one more time. So what if she was outnumbered? She wasn't going to let a bunch of petty Gryffindors do whatever they wanted to her. She had to prove that she wasn't the weak puffball they thought she was. She was a Quidditch Captain, for Merlin's sake. Not to mention one of the Beaters on the team. She had to stand up for herself, and she would. They weren't going to get away with this if she could help it. She was going to get hurt either way, and she might as well go down fighting first.

But before she could do anything, a voice came from the other side. It wasn't difficult to detect the anger in their voice, despite how calm and cold it seemed. Saskia turned towards the source of the voice, only to be greeted by the sight of a dark haired Slytherin girl who seemed to be around the same age as her. Huh. Was she actually standing up for her? Saskia didn't think anyone would have intervened, let alone notice what was going on. The corridors were quiet, and there was barely anyone who continued to linger in the halls. Although with the commotion that was going on, maybe someone was bound to notice that something was wrong one way or another.

There was one part of her that was grateful for that. She already had a disadvantage against the three boys, and there was no way she would have been able to walk away from them without any kind of damage. She couldn't have talked her way out of it, and while she could have defended herself, there were simply too many people who could easily overpower her. But there was also humiliation. It was enough that a Quidditch Captain couldn't properly fight back, but now she had to rely on a stranger's help to get out of the situation. What did that say about her? Were the bullies right that she couldn't even stand up for herself? That couldn't have been right. She didn't ask for help in the first place. She had no way of knowing this would happen. But that didn't mean she had to be ungrateful for it, in a practical sense. She would have to find a way to thank the girl sometime.

"What do you know? The Slythergit came crawling out of the snake den," one of the bullies drawled out, crossing his arms as he sized up the newcomer in front of them. Any threats she made clearly didn't seem to get through the boy, and if anything, he seemed bored instead. It was still three against two, after all. They were confident enough to deal with the girl, however frightening she appeared.

The leader of the group scowled at the girl. He didn't bother to hide the rage in his voice. He had the perfect opportunity to kick the Hufflepuff Captain down a few pegs, but the Slytherin ruined that for him. "What's your problem, snake? Can't you see we're in the middle of something?

"Yeah," one of the boys piped in. "We're just having a little chat about the game with the team captain here. Sending our congratulations from the last game, that's all." The boy smiled smugly, pausing as he pretended to think about what to say next. "And besides, aren't you supposed to be hanging around with your own people and minding your own business?"

The other Gryffindor continued glaring at the girl. "He's right. Why don't you slither back to wherever you came from?" He took a step forward the girl, his fists clenched at his sides. "Or maybe we should drag you there ourselves."

That was it. Saskia couldn't stand around letting someone else be threatened for her sake. Of course, she wouldn't have let any bullies hurt other people, but this was more personal this time around. The Slytherin came in to stop them, but now they were focusing their attention on her. If she didn't do anything, the girl would have gotten hurt thanks to her. She couldn't have that.

"Hey. Leave her alone," she demanded, reaching out to yank the boy's arm back as hard as she could. The Gryffindor stumbled backwards from the pull, and for a moment, it seemed that he was distracted. But it wasn't long before he turned around and used his free hand to smack her hard across the face. She could still feel a sting a few seconds later. There was probably a bruise where she was punched too. But all Saskia could do was stare defiantly at the boy. She wasn't going to let him know that she felt the pain, even if it hurt.

"Try that again and I'll make sure you'll be getting worse than that," he snarled at the Hufflepuff before turning back to the other girl, anger burning in his eyes. "I think you overstayed your welcome. Either you leave or we'll make you leave."

At least for a moment, their attention focused on her. The little cubs mewed about their words in what she could only assumed were meant to be hurtful words and names. Not exactly the most creative names she'd heard in her time at the school, but they were cute enough to tug a small smile at the corner of her lips. Could there be anything more frightening then an angry girl with a calm smile? These boys clearly didn't have the life experience to know.

That amusement was killed the moment the Huffle girl stepped in and the boy put his hands on her once more.

Illowy could feel the rage burning in her chest, like a coal smoldering away in her heart, "I will warn you one last time, you disgusting excuse for a mortal creature." she growled, "Emphasis on mortal." the girl moved with no hesitation to place herself between the brute and the girl, "If any of you lot have any desire to leave this corridor standing upright, then you would be wise to leave now." she narrowed her cold, icy eyes, practically gazing through into the lad's very soul.

She didn't spend hours practicing her dueling techniques to not put them into action when she might most need them; and she had no qualms getting a detention because she sent some lunkhead crawling on his hands and knees to the hospital wing. Hell, she'll send all of them if that's what she had to do. Or if this cub wanted to try this the Muggle way, she had no problem with that either. One thing was for sure though, she had no intention of leaving this interaction off her feet.

It was her best and worst trait; Illowy didn't know how to back down. Even when she knew the odds were stacked against her. The trait of 'self-preservation' commonly found among Slytherin students was sorely lacking in her.

The girl spoke up again, the rage in her voice more apparent this time around. It was obvious she wasn't going to back down, even with the odds stacked against her. Was that brave or stupid? It didn't seem like the girl was acting out of stupidity at all. It would have been a grave insult to call it that. No, she was relentless. It didn't matter if the boys might have been stronger than her. It didn't even matter if they could have teamed up and taken her down all at once. She wasn't going to give up. She knew what she was getting into. This wasn't a mere act of impulse. And that was probably what made Saskia understand that she wasn't just using empty threats. She meant every single word. It was in her tone, and it was in the way she hadn't hesitated for even one second. It was something worth admiring.

But there was another question Saskia wanted to ask the Slytherin, perhaps after this was over. Why did she care so much? Of course, it was wrong to sit and watch while a fight went on, and maybe that was why she bothered to step in to begin with, but why did it seem like there was more to it than it seemed? She didn't even know her personally. She might have seen her in Quidditch- maybe she even saw her own team lose against hers in their other game, but other than that, she might as well have been another stranger to her. Someone who didn't matter to her. And yet, she was still here, willing to take her chances and fight against three other people. Was pride involved in this? Did she want to prove something to them somehow? Or did she genuinely care about her? Merlin, even thinking about that made Saskia cringe. Of course she didn't care about her. There had to be something else in this. But she knew for a fact she wasn't a part of it.

The Gryffindor, who was now in front of the mystery girl, simply stared down at her. Whether he wasn't affected by the Slytherin's threats or if he simply kept a brave face would remain uncertain. "Do your worst. You lose either way, if you think about it. You'd have to explain yourself to the professors once they come running in to see what's going on. I doubt they'd take it very well when they run in here and see a snake like you trying to attack us. If anything, it only proves that you Slytherins are too dangerous to keep around," he stated, crossing his arms. "And besides, this was between us and the Hufflepuff. If you wanted to pick a fight, you should have looked somewhere else. So, I suggest you run along so we can finish our little discussion before you came in and interrupted us." The boy remained where he was, leaving the other two boys standing idly while waiting in case their leader had done anything else. Saskia herself couldn't have intervened anymore. The girl was still in between her and the other boy, leaving the Hufflepuff's movements limited. All she could do now was see what the Slytherin would have to say or do next. It seemed that she would always remain powerless in these situations.

A cold smirk spread over the snake's face once more as he challenged her, "Three big Gryffindor boys, against two small girls, one of which already has a mark on her face from you, and you think that if I send you flying, I'll be the one who'll get in trouble?" she questioned cynically, "And how humiliating for you to be taken down by a Slytherin girl."

Ghostly eyes flickered between the Hufflepuff's attacker and the other two pathetic little goons. In her experience, Gryffindor's clearly felt the only way they could assert their dominance was by intimidation and numbers. Perhaps that was why she'd felt so inclined to help. Her own bullies had mainly consisted of Gryffindor's, especially the leader. At some point, someone had to stop the cycle of air headed lions that thought they could just throw their weight around.

Somehow, in Illowy's mind, it felt easier and more natural to protect someone else then to protect herself. For her, she couldn't bring herself to hesitate when someone else was in trouble; it was like going into autopilot.

A thin hand reached into the pocket of her robes as she drew her wand and poised herself at the ready. She had no doubt they'd probably laugh in her face; after all, she was small in height and frame, and she supposed she looked unassuming to most, but she had faith in her own strength and that was enough.

Eyes narrow, she spoke clear, her smirk never leaving her face, "Slugulus Eructo!"

In her mind, this was a mercy spell. In her core, she'd rather set the trio aflame and leave them to put themselves out if they had enough wit to.

Hopefully the other two were as big of cowards as she could only assume, and would accept the example she made of their leader and turn tail as they should have then she made her initial threat. She would make it know that she was not a witch to be tried in any respect; and she wasn't afraid to make good of her threats.

Saskia's watched as the girl took her wand out and poised herself to cast a spell. Wow. She really just went there, did she? The Hufflepuff didn't doubt for a second that the girl wasn't to be messed with, but seeing what she had done just now was living proof that she really shouldn't be pissing her off anytime soon. She had guts, that was for sure. Casting a spell in the middle of the hallways was one way to spark trouble and potentially a detention, but in this case, it might have been the one thing that saved the Quidditch Captain.

Predictably, the Gryffindors themselves were not quite impressed with the sight of a small Slytherin girl pulling her wand out. They hadn't budged from their spot, and if anything, they seemed amused. It was likely they were either underestimating the girl's ability to fulfill those threats she threw at them, or maybe they just didn't comprehend just how effective magic could have been. Regardless, that moment of amusement would not have lasted much longer now that the effects of the spell had settled in. More precisely, the effects it would have on the Gryffindor leader. It was not a pretty sight. Not that vomitting slugs was supposed to be something nice to watch anyway.

It happened almost immediately. The boy had bent over and threw a hand over bis mouth as he started coughing. Much to his horror, he would find a slug crawling on the hand he covered his mouth with. It probably wouldn't have taken long before a swarm of those slimy creatures would surround him at this rate. But now that his throat was currently constricted with slugs, he couldn't say anything to the Slytherin.

Fortunately for him, the other Gryffindor was more than happy to voice out what the boys were probably thinking about. "What the hell did you do to him?" he demanded, rushing over to the slug-infested boy and taking him by the arm. He gave one last glare towards the Slytherin. "You'll pay for this, you filthy snake." And with that, he pulled the slug boy alongside him, taking their departure from the hallways, with the last Gryffindor hurriedly following.

That left Saskia all alone with her mysterious savior. Well, what exactly was she supposed to say to her now? It would have made the most sense to thank her, she supposed. That was what she had been intending to do ever since she showed up. She would have felt guilty otherwise. After all, the girl had risked getting into trouble just to save her. "Thanks for helping me out there. I appreciate that." That was a start. At least she got that out of the way. But beyond that point, she was unsure of what else would be appropriate to say in front of a stranger who somehow managed to save her anyway. "Have I seen you around before? I don't think I've caught your name." Merlin, she hoped the girl didn't mind small talk.

Illowy wasn't built to fear authority. Perhaps it ran in the family, considering her cousin was much the same way. After all, even if she did get into trouble, it wasn't as though she didn't have an arguably solid defense as to her actions; and she hardly felt any remorse as the boy doubled over, choking up the slimiest looking slug she was sure she'd ever seen.

Her smirk never left her face as one of the boy demanded to know what she'd done, "Being the dense lads that you are, it doesn't surprise me you can't recognize the snail vomiting curse when you see it." she mused, watching as the lad took his friend by the arm, sputtering out weak threats that the snake didn't even bat an eye to as she watched the trio scurry off.

Quite pleased with her work, the snake returned her wand to the safety of her robe pocket, not looking back at the other girl until she spoke up, "Its nothing. I just can't stand seeing lunk heads like that trying to intimidate people." she assured, running a hand through her mess of dark tresses.

Illowy had expected for the conversation to end there for a moment until the other spoke up once more, "Illowy Magnard." she introduced herself, "Second year 'filthy snake'." chuckle escaped her, unable to help but quote the pitiful excuse for an insult that the boys' had tried to throw at her.

Saskia couldn't help but laugh a bit at Illowy's introduction. Aside from the intimidating aura she previously had and the fact that she single-handedly took down one Gryffindor and left the other two running off, she seemed nice. It definitely would have made it less awkward for Saskia to approach her, much less thank her for what she did, and for that, she was a bit more grateful that things were going a little better after the recent incident.

"Saskia Nicholson. I'm the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain," she responded, her tone rather bright for someone who had just been punched across the face. "Those guys kind of had a grudge against me. They didn't like that Gryffindor lost against Hufflepuff in the latest match, so they took it out on me, she explained. She wasn't very sure if Illowy even wanted an explanation to begin with, but it only seemed natural for the Hufflepuff to give some context on what happened, in case the other girl wanted to know. She could have been embarrassing herself instead by telling her things she didn't need to know, but that was something she didn't want to worry about now that she had already brought it up.

Was that all she was going to say? Just a simple thank you and a brief introduction before they parted ways? That seemed rather lackluster. Oddly enough, she wanted to know a bit more about the girl who brought it upon herself to save the random stranger who couldn't defend herself. But how would she go any further from here? "For the record, that was a pretty awesome move you did back there. You definitely scared them right off." She grinned at the memory of the trio fleeing from the corridor. "Are you experienced with duelling? It looked like you knew what you were doing."

Illowy nodded, "I know. I saw the match." she assured, "It was honestly a brutal beating... then again, even if it was close, I've never known Gryffindor to lose anything gracefully." the snake have a short chuckle. Not that she had much room to talk. Slytherins weren't known for lose with much grace either, "Either way, that was a pathetic way to go about anything. Cornering you isn't going to change the score."

Once more, Illowy thought the conversation would die from there, but the girl continued. Frankly, it surprised her. Illowy wasn't exactly swimming in friends, or really even anyone who enjoyed talking to her on any level; even in her own house. Most of the friends she'd made had distanced themselves from her after the Blossom Ball... most everything seemed to go downhill after the Blossom Ball. Perhaps actually having someone to talk to would be a good change of pace for her?

As she was complimented on her, the girl gave a sheepish smile raising her hand to rub the back of her neck, "Thanks. I don't know about experienced, but I practiced a lot and got to be one of the rounds for dueling club this year and won with my partner. I'm really wanting to get into it more, my mom was a Dueling Club Captain for Ravenclaw when she was in school." she explained. It never occurred to her that others might be impressed with her casting, given the only person she ever wanted to impress was her mother; having a bit of a habit of putting the woman on a pedestal to aspire to.