Harry Potter sat in the snowy courtyard, watching as Hedwig flew above in, almost disappearing against the backdrop of the stone gray sky of a winter afternoon. As he sat there he could feel a rare sense of tranquility settle in himself and he relished in it. He was all alone, his friends probably in the common room, bickering about homework and while Harry needed to finish his as well for this moment he wanted to just revel in this strange sense of peace he had found. It had been awhile since Harry had been on his own, usually surrounded by his friends or doing things for Dumbledore so for right now he wanted to just enjoy the cold on his cheeks and the exhilarating sight of his owl soaring above him, free and untroubled.

XXXXXX

Draco Malfoy trooped through the snow, muttering under his breath curses he could never dream of performing at his age and promises to have his petty revenge. The blonde had just finished with a detention helping professor Sprout keep some sort of plant warm for her lessons. The detention had been assigned to him from McGonagal because he had failed to turn in his homework for the 5th time in a month.

"Stupid hag," Draco grumbled. It was not his fault he didn't have time to do her bloody homework! He was to busy in the Room of Hidden Objects, trying to get that damn cabinet to work before the school year ended and he found himself becoming an orphan!

As he trudged through the snow, up the hill that led from the Greenhouses to the castle, he tried to forget about his miserable time in detention and focus on what he needed to do to get that bloody cabinet working again! If only he could bring that idiot Borgin to see it, but that would be far too suspicious and the last thing Draco needed was Dumbledore suspecting that he was up to something. He could already sense that Snape knew that something was up, but he would not ask the man for help. He had to do this alone.

The courtyard was soon in view, and it appeared to be empty which meant that it was too cold for any students to be out messing up the beauty of fresh snow. It was as he approached the courtyard that a most ridiculous idea popped into his head. He would have dismissed it seeing as he did not have time to do silly things when he suddenly spotted someone sitting on one of the benches, starring up at the sky.

Potter.

Of course it was Potter, no one else had hair that black or that wild. Draco's fingers twitched at the sight of his school nemesis and that stupid idea nagged at his brain. It was ridiculous and Potter would see but maybe...

Draco bit his lip. He was so alone lately, no one really talked to him anymore because he had shut them all out and he hadn't fought with Potter since he had smashed his nose in. Potter was probably outside to get away from everyone, catch a bit of air untainted by the fear of war. It bothered Draco for some reason. Draco hadn't had a single moment of rest since last summer, so why should Potter who was just as involved as he be able to get a break when he, Draco, could not.

With a determined look now on the Slyhterin's face, Draco stalked up to the courtyard and rather than going straight into the castle he went right for where Potter sat.

"Oi! Potter!"

XXXX

Harry jumped slightly at the brash way someone called out to him. The look of peace he had, had on his face instantly melted away into a frown when he realized who had interrupted his time alone.

"What do you want Malfoy? I am trying to have a moment of peace."

The Slytherin walked closer to where he sat and then paused nearly in front of him, but keeping a good five feet distance between the two. He then surprised Harry by bending down to, of all things, begin making large snow balls. Harry put his hand in his pocket, waiting for the git to throw a snow ball at him, but was shocked to see him continue to make the snow ball bigger.

"Then by no means allow me to bother you. I am simply here to make snow people," the blonde said calmly, befuddling Harry completely. Did he really just say that he was making snow people?

Harry watched half in amazement and half wary as Malfoy finished the base of his snow person and then moved on to what would surely be the torso. Harry blinked, wondering if he was really going mental because this was just too weird. Was someone like Malfoy really capable of doing something as innocent as making snow people? No. Definitely not. There had to be some sort of devious plot beneath this, there just had to be!

"Snow people, you?" Harry managed to get out.

He was given a look of hurt, but those gray eyes had too much sarcasm in them for the offense to be real.

"Tut, tut potter. Just because we are not all as righteous as you does not mean that someone like me cannot simply decide to make snow people. I mean look at this snow, it is absolutely perfect for it."

Harry was beyond just confused now, he was lost. Completely and utterly lost because he really could not think of any sinister ulterior motives behind making snow people, but still. It was Draco bloody Malfoy!

To keep from letting Draco know that he had gotten to him, Harry glared at the teenager as he continued on with his assembling of snow people. Harry tried to go back to gazing at the sky, but he found himself continuously trying to watch Malfoy as surreptitiously as possible. This proved hard to do as Malfoy, for reasons unknown, kept looking over at Harry. It was almost as if he were analyzing the green eyed teen, but why?! After a good three minutes of this the question was bothering Harry a lot, and so he gave in and spoke to his unexpected companion on that winter day.

"Stop looking at me! It's creepy," Harry snapped in irritation. He had expected Draco to snap back with some witty reply but he was met with silence as his school boy rival simply continued on with his molding of the snow.

Some more minutes passed and Malfoy finally stood back to look at what could only be described as a snow blob, critically.

"I thought that you said that you were making a snowman," Harry said.

"I did."

"That is a snow blob."

Malfoy sighed. He seemed disappointed,and not with his finished result either, but rather with harry. "you have no eye for art Potter. You cannot even tell that I have created you in the form of snow."

Harry started back but then stood up, walking over to the blob of snow that was supposed ot be him. Squinting through his glasses he could detect no resemblance to himself. "there is no way that even Van Gogh could discern that, that is supposed to be me."

A roll of Malfoy's eyes let Harry know that the blonde had no clue who he was talking about, and suddenly Malfoy's wand was in his hand. At last, Harry thought and went to grab his own wand, but there was no need to for all Malfoy did was wave his wand at the snow.

Once some of the snow had fallen from the blob Harry was left gobsmacked as he stared at an exact replica of himself. Why even bother to make the blob in the first place then?! Surely Draco Malfoy was not one to need the satisfaction of trying to do something of his own volition, right?

"Now for the next one," Malfoy declared, sounding rather pleased.

Harry then spent the next half hour or so watching as Draco Malfoy made snow blobs and then take out his wand to turn them into actual snow people of himself, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Dumbledore, Snape, and even Voldemort. The other teen's reasoning was lost on Harry, but he felt like he had to know and therefore he could not just walk away and leave Malfoy to his own strange devices.

When the blonde had completely finished he stepped back to stand next to harry and looked over his rather proudly, but then the proud shoulder slumped a bit and Malfoy gave a sigh of depression.

"I had wanted to do something nice for a while but it looks like nothing is innocent anymore."

What on earth was he going on about, harry wondered as he looked from the eerily accurate snow people to the boy standing beside him.

"What do you-"

"Anyhow, I suppose I can use this as a way to relieve stress."

Malfoy then walked over to snow Harry and looked directly at the real version, as he wanted to wanted make sure that the other teen was watching him. "Watch."

The snow Harry was flanked by the Ron and Hermione snow people with Ginny in the back. The other snow people were a few feet away, with the Dumbledore on his own and the Snape with the Malfoy and Voldemort seemingly leering at them all.

"This is you," Malfoy said, pointing at the snow Harry with his wand. "When the final battle happens you will live. Maybe you will almost die but I am fairly positive that you will win. Weasley on the other hand is stupid and will therefore die."

With a violent swish of his wand and a whisper of "Reducto", Malfoy blasted the snow Ron out of existence.

"Hey-" Harry began indignantly, but Malfoy turned towards him, pointing his wand in Harry's face with a scarily calm expression upon his face.

"I am not done Potter."

Harry gulped, not knowing if he should be scared or not. He had never seen Draco like this. Seeing that Harry was not going to say anything else, Malfoy turned back to the snow people and walked over to Dumbledore. "Now, although the old codger is brilliant and all he has to die."

This time Harry watched in silence and disbelief as Malfoy took out the Dumbledore snow-person. What had come over the Slytherin, harry wanted to know. Had the stress of whatever mission Voldemort had given him (because Harry still adamantly believed that Malfoy was working for Voldemort) caused him to finally loose it?

"So with him out of the way the Dark Lord will prosper some, but you will continue to live and muck up his dream. During the final showdown Snape will die. Reducto. So then it comes down to just you and the Dark Lord and it will seem like he has won but no, you do. Reducto!"

The snow in the courtyard was now marred with four scorch marks. Now, all that was left were the snow people of Ginny, Hermione, Harry, and Malfoy.

"What about you?" Harry asked as Malfoy came back to stand next to him.

"Well I will probably die while you and the Weaselette go off and marry and breed more charming little Gryffindors, and Granger? Well she'll probably go on to do some do gooder thing for the Wizarding World and it will all be alright"

Malfoy was speaking softly, causing Harry to have to lean towards him to be able to catch was he was saying. He looked so sad and Harry, forgetting their sides in the brewing war and his obsession with proving that this wizard was up to no good, wanted to comfort the other teen somehow.

"But I don't like that," Malfoy whispered.

The blonde raised his wand dramatically and with a powerful sweep of his arm, and a flick for the spell he screamed, "REDUCTO!"

Once the snow had setttled back down, Harry moved his arm from his face to protect his glasses from getting wet from contact with the snow and his breath caught in his throat. There were only two snow people left. Just him and Malfoy. Standing side by side.

"Give me your scarf Potter."

"Wha-"

"Your scarf Potter."

Malfoy stretched out his his hand for the article of clothing, and with a sigh Harry relinquished it to the Slytherin. He was still completely lost, but he no longer felt like Malfoy was up to anything bad right now.

As soon as the scarf was in Malfoy's hand, the blonde walked over to the two snowmen and wrapped the Gryffindor scarf around the neck of the Harry one and then took off his own scarf, wrapping it around his own reflection. Harry watched as Malfoy inspected his work and then, seemingly not satisfied, moved forward and knotted an end of each of the scarves together, connecting them.

The sky was turning dark and Harry could feel the cold become more bitter, but he made no move to leave as he witnessed Malfoy give a nod of approval and then turn to look directly at him. What now, harry wondered. Were they closer now because of this? Or would this whole thing go unmentioned between the two of them as Malfoy continued on his path to darkness and Harry on his own path towards understanding and light.

"Well, I'll see you around Potter," Malfoy said, surprising Harry even further.

The blonde walked past him and just when Harry decided to attest this to a small mental break down he felt something soft but cold touch his bare fingertips. Malfoy was close to him as he walked by, but he looked straight ahead, not trying to make any eye contact to acknowledge that yes, he had just brushed his hand against Harry's.

And then he was gone. Harry could feel his heart beating furiously and in a moment of rashness ran after Malfoy, but by the time he had reached the castle the Slytherin was nowhere in sight. Harry bent over, catching his breath, disappointment flooding him. He had so many questions, but when he had caught his breath and looked back at the dying day outside where two scarves, one red and gold and the other green and silver, could just barely be seen wrapped around one another, Harry wondered if maybe Malfoy wasn't ready to give him any answers just yet.