The wind bit against Corvin's skin, tearing at his clothes as it whistled with pellets of snow that blurred his vision. He wasn’t supposed to be outside, but Vera had promised to take the fall if he was caught while in the snowstorm. She had practically begged him to do this, saying that someone needed his help.

  Not hers, his.

  There were reasons he wasn't a prefect after all. This little nighttime excursion being one of them. He loved sneaking out, and had gotten caught multiple times beforehand.

  The first time the headmaster had caught him, he’d frozen and his throat had locked up. He still remembered sitting in a chair that felt too big, crying, begging and saying that he was sorry, that he would be better when he was left alone with the man. He just didn’t want to go back to the hell that was his home. He was scared that they would treat him like his father and lock him away until he learned his lesson. It wasn’t any better the second, or even the third time.

  Yet, the headmaster had offered him some hot chocolate each time. Each time he assured Corvin that it was okay, that he wasn't going to hurt him. Each time, Corvin didn’t believe him. Yet, he had held true to his word. When the headmaster told Corvin that he would fight tooth and nail to keep him away from his personal hell, Corvin had hoped. That hope turned into tears of joy when the headmaster told him he didn’t have to go back the summer after his second year.

  For three years, he’d ask the same question to be met with the same answer. A gentle shake of the headmaster's head. A simple no followed by walking on lush grounds and radiating sunlights. For three years, he’d met people almost exactly like him. Broken, scarred, scared and looking at him like he was a threat. For a year, they’d guided others like them. For a year, Corvin had tried to be what the headmaster had been for him.

  Each step brought him closer towards the lake, where Vera had said someone needed his help. She admitted while she was a prefect, she couldn't do as much as she wanted. The beams of moonlight shone down upon a single figure whimpering in pain, holding their head as if to banish a demon. Whoever they were, it clearly hurt a lot. As he approached the glassy surface of the lake, he heard them before he saw them. Crystalline tears flowed like water as the person stared out at the lake. Another beam of moonlight told him all he needed to know, even without attempting his enhanced vision. It was a first year girl, a frost elemental by the looks of it. Snow-white skin clashed against vibrant blue hair and equally deep blue eyes as the storm howled with each step corvin took.

  If he wasn’t searching for someone, he would’ve missed her. She was just so small. So fragile. Corvin took a few more steps forward as snow crunched under his boot and the storm grew stronger. He finally reached her, and sat down in the snow.

  When she saw him, the girl recoiled into herself with a whimper and fear in her eyes. It hurt, because that was him when someone found him at this very lake. His fingers brushed against the small pieces of candy he carried. He took them out, and the girl's eyes widened with surprise.

  “Did you bring it for me?” The girl asked, her voice laced with fear, but at the same time tinged with something else far more faint.

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  Hope.

  Fragile, almost broken hope. Her hands reached out tentatively, and at Corvin's nod she took the candy from his outstretched hand, gently unwrapping it like some sort of treasure she’d discovered under soft moonlight. She gently popped it into her mouth, savoring the sweet treat that Corvin offered her. Then her heart caught up once again, and she looked at him with wide, fearful eyes.

  “Please… I don’t want to go back there.” Her fragile voice slapped Corvin in the face with far more force than any blow his father could’ve hoped to inflict. Tears once again slid down snow-white cheeks as she curled into herself.

  “Please don’t, don’t tell anyone you saw me. They don’t care about me, not anymore.” Her voice was even smaller and more resigned now, begging him to not say anything. He knew if he didn’t say anything, she was damned to return to somewhere she didn't feel loved.

  But if he said something to the headmaster, then he would be breaking the smallest bit of extremely fragile trust he'd been given, and she may not ever be able to get the help she needed. The snowstorm grew stronger, responding to the girl's fear and anguish.

  “They sent me to a facility north of here last summer. They'll do it again.” Her voice was full of quiet resignation, like she'd accepted that she would be sent back to a cold hell without a second thought. The very same non-magical system that had failed him, had failed her in a different way.

  The very same magical system that had failed him, and it would fail her. Of that, Corvin was sure. Sure, maybe it was easier to make a case since he didn't require anything beyond thicker winter coats, while she needed something more.

  But for the frostlong that stared at him with wide eyes, it made all the difference. She needed to be loved, but she also needed special, colder living spaces to keep her healthy during the summers Wisconsin experienced. While further north than New England, the climate still wasn't satisfactory for the powers that be to keep her healthy.

  “I can't promise you anything. Not yet. But you aren’t alone. If they send you back, I'll wait for you here at the school gates when you return.” Corvin's words tumbled out of his mouth before he processed them. He knew exactly what he just said, and he didn't regret it. Not a single word.

  Because he would wait for her there until he graduated. When he'd returned from his break going into second year, Vera had done the exact same thing. It made him feel less alone, before the headmaster managed to allow the government to let him stay here.

  He looked down, startled as the girl's hands grabbed his waist and hugged him tightly, squeezing his waist. He reached down one hand, resting it on her shoulder as those deep blue eyes looked at him.

  “Promise you’ll wait?” the girl asked, a whisper into the night air as she leaned against him.

  Corvin looked out at the frozen lake, the ever-growing snowstorm, and the young frostling girl that held onto him as he gently wrapped an arm around her. The storm slowly lessened, cold air blowing less harshly than before.

  “I promise.” He muttered, glancing at the frozen lake and the waning snowstorm beyond as she gripped him a little tighter.