Kindness: Helpful or Harmful? PV Estelle Nyx closed

Estelle walked to the owlery. She was tired, as school that day had been very draining, and she couldn't wait to get some food and sleep. But first, she needed to send a letter to her father.

As she stepped inside, she noticed a boy, older than her, watching as an owl swooped on a mouse. The poor thing was terrified, squeaking and curling up in its little corner, just out of reach of the owl's talons and beak.

The boy was just watching, not trying to help in any way and that seemed cruel to Estelle. It wasn't like the owls didn't get fed and so the owl had no need to eat the small mouse. If it had been the main food source for the owl, Estelle would have begrudgingly left it alone, but it wasn't. She could interfere.

She began to shoo away the owl, getting a little scratched in the process. With a small shriek, it flew back to its perch, allowing Estelle to gently clasp the terrified mouse. She glared at the boy who had done nothing to help. Leaving the mouse may have been the right thing - no one could fault him - but it wasn't the kind thing to do.

@Jack Burnett

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jack called as a girl appeared in the owlery and proceeded to try to shoo away the owl going after the mouse. "You're going to get yourself hurt!"

The girl didn't seem to hear him, though. Either that, or she simply didn't care. The bird of prey returned to its perch with a small shriek, but not before managing to scratch the girl somehow - either with its tough talons or sharp beak. Jack winced at the sight of the scratches, but the girl, who appeared to be a Gryffindor, seemed to pay them no mind. Her attention was on the mouse instead - at least until she looked up to glare at Jack.

"What?" he asked, feeling indignant all of a sudden. "Not all of us are as stupidly reckless as Gryffindors, just jumping into a situation without giving it a second thought." He knew he wasn't being entirely fair with that statement, but he felt like saying it just the same. "You're lucky you just got away with a few scratches. What if you had been hurt worse than that? Here, let me see." He rolled up his sleeves and took out his wand, preparing to do a bit of minor healing.

@Estelle Nyx

Estelle glared at the boy. Who was he to judge her. He hadn't even cared when the mouse was attacked.

"Actually, I wasn't being reckless. A few scratches is a fair price to pay for the life of an animal. Anyway, I'm fine."

She rolled her eyes and looked at her arm. The wound was slightly worse than she had originally thought, but she wouldn't have chosen differently if she had the chance to save the mouse again.

"Why didn't you help save the mouse? It could have been killed, poor thing."

She looked down at her hands, where the mouse was curled up, shaking. She hoped it would be alright. It didn't seem to be hurt, just a little scared. She knew she'd have to release it, but releasing a mouse in a castle full of cats was just sentencing it to a worse fate. She decided she would release it at the edge of the forest and hoped it would be safe.

Estelle moved the mouse into one hand and searched her pocket for crumbs to feed it with the other. Her hands eventually landed on a small pile of bread crumbs which she fed to the mouse. It was wary at first, but soon began to become more confident and it soon was literally eating out of the palm of her hand.

@Jack Burnett

"Don't you hear what I'm saying?" Jack asked when the girl claimed that a few scratches was 'a fair price to pay for the life of an animal'. "It could have been more than just a few scratches! You're lucky it wasn't!" Moving his wand tip in a small circle, he said, "Episkey," attempting to heal her injuries.

Then the girl asked why he hadn't help save the mouse. Jack stared at her like she had just asked him why he didn't have two heads. "It's only a mouse," he started, completely unaware just how much of an animal-lover he was in the presence of. "Besides, don't you know kindness can be dangerous? What if that mouse had rabies and it bit you when you tried to help it? Or what if one of these owls has a nest of hungry chicks it needs that mouse to feed? You should think before you act next time."

He sighed as he watched the girl feed the mouse a few bread crumbs from her pocket, wondering if he was getting through to her at all. On top of being a Gryffindor, she seemed to be a younger student so he had the feeling his words weren't going to have much value to her. She would probably brush them off as the words of an older student who she didn't think knew what he was talking about.

@Estelle Nyx

"Firstly, it's an owl. It can't do that much harm. Talons will rip my clothes before they cut my arm so they can't do too much damage. A beak can only peck you. Both a sewing kit and a reparo charm are decent at fixing robes so I can just use them.

Secondly, the school hospital literally has magical healing that can heal cuts and wounds instantly, just like the spell you just did.

Thirdly, all the owls at school are fed regularly.

Fourthly, if they weren't, I would have left the mouse - circle of life and all

Fifthly, there is no rabies in Scotland. If the owl carried disease, why would it be allowed in the owlery?

Therefore, the situation wasn't too risky, I saved the mouse, the owl is fine, I'm fine and the mouse is fine, if a little scared.

For all these reasons, I do not act without thinking."

Estelle glared at the boy. She knew what she was doing, saving that mouse, and even if she hadn't, what's done is done. She wasn't about to fall to her knees begging for forgiveness for saving the life of an innocent creature.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go outside and release this mouse."

Estelle turned to leave.

"You clearly don't know much about owls if you don't know enough to be afraid of one," Jack said, shaking his head at the girl. "They're considered birds of prey and apex predators in their respective ecosystems for a reason. They can and do attack humans. Some can lift their own body weight. And don't even get me started on how strong their beaks and talons are. They could do much more than just shred your clothes to ribbons since they're used to cutting up flesh and organs."

He threw up his hands when she began to talk about the school hospital. "Magic can't cure everything. Like I bet it can't cure rabies. But anyway, even if it could, that's not the point!"

Jack frowned at the Gryffindor. "Just because the school owls are fed doesn't mean their families are fed, too. And when I said you could get rabies, I meant from the mouse, not the owl! Mammals spread rabies, not birds! And rabies can be found all over the world, including Scotland!"

He put his wand away and ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. "You're still not getting my point, though. Even disregarding everything else I've said, kindness is dangerous. It can be used against you and it can even be harmful to whomever you're kind to. Remember that."

@Estelle Nyx