Clearly Althea had hit a nerve with this girl. "It's not an excuse, it's just fact," she replied with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. Althea only dealt with facts--specifically facts that were curated by her--and she could not understand why Dorit was offended. She wondered if this is what her brothers meant by her being rude; that people didn't always take well to how she articulated herself. But, and if she was being completely honest, it didn't bother her.

"So," Althea drawled, tapping a finger to her chin again, "what you're saying is that if I don't watch myself, someone--and I'm guessing this someone is you--will make me answer to that. Physically. Is that right?" What a curious situation. Althea wasn't above getting her hands dirty when she needed to, but it was cold outside, what if she slipped just like that idiot girl did before her? That would be embarrassing and she'd never be able to recover from that.

As the Gryffindor walked away, Althea pulled out her wand to levitate some ice that had collected on the railing and flicked it at the retreating girl's back. "A parting gift, to help you cool off," Althea said cheerfully. She did enjoy helping others out--as long as it entertained her--and random acts of kindness cleansed the soul! If anything, she expected to be thanked for her generosity.