"It's cold."
Severus glanced to the side. "Yes." He drawled. "That's usually a reaction to snow."
Sirius crossed his arms and squinted out across the frozen Black Lake. "I dare you to go walk on that ice." He said suddenly, a smug, superior tone in his voice.
"And break my neck? You'd like that, wouldn't you, mutt?"
It was Christmas day, and Severus Snape and Sirius Black were standing outside in the fresh snow, trying to get away from Dumbledore's obsessive behavior with the holidays. Christmas carols, mistletoe, and general festivities were crunching Severus' style, and he had left the castle in an ebony storm cloud of billowing robes.
Ten minutes later, he was standing there, Sirius Black at his side, staring at the Forbidden Forest's dark tree line. "You're just a fraidy cat." Sirius said huffily.
"You sound like a first year." Severus said bluntly.
"Shut up, Snivellus."
"Do you really want me to?"
"Yeah. I'll come too."
"Fine." He sighed.
Maybe he had drunk too much eggnog, or maybe he was just feeling reckless, but Severus began to stride towards the Lake. Sirius followed at his heels, grinning madly as he walked.
Stooping down and picking up a large stone, Severus chucked it out across the Lake. It hit the ice and bounced before skittering out towards the opposite shore. Taking a steadying breath, Severus calmly stepped out onto the ice.
"See." He took a step. "I'm walking on the ice."
Sirius scoffed. "You're not. Go out further." He made little fluttering motions with his hands.
Severus took another step. "C'mon, then." He said, arms out at his sides for balance.
Sirius stepped out onto the ice next to Severus. "Woah." He slid around for a second, struggling to find his equilibrium.
Severus smirked and took another step. "How the hell are you-?"
With a shout, Sirius flailed his arms, searching for something to hold onto as he futilely attempted to regain his balance. Unfortunately, the only thing available was Severus. Sirius grabbed Severus' elbow, dragging them both down with a thud.
"You imbecile!" Severus snarled, trying to right himself.
Sirius burst out laughing, even as he sat on his butt on the ice. "This is fun!"
"I'll show you fun!" He spat, scrambling onto the shore and picking up a handful of fresh snow.
A few minutes later, Sirius struggled to stand up, and he looked around. "Snape? Where did you g-AH!"
A snowball hit him square in the face, knocking him backwards and back onto his bum. Rusty laughter filled his ears as he clawed at his face, trying to clear the snow from his vision. "SNAPE!" He bellowed, crawling to his feet and rushing to the shore before he could fall again.
In response, Severus strolled up and threw a handful of the freezing snow down the back of Sirius' shirt. "OIY! Aiiiyyyeeee! God DAMN that's COLD!" Sirius roared as Severus took off running, black cloak billowing out behind him.
"Haha, are you going to let me get away with that, Black?" Severus crowed triumphantly as he ran.
Sirius grinned, grabbed a handful of snow, and began the chase. Severus skidded to a stop, feeling utterly ridiculous, and threw another snowball at Sirius. Before he could resume running, Sirius tackled him from behind with a roar of mock anger.
They struggled for a moment, then Sirius managed to grab Severus' wrists, straddled his thighs, and pin him to the snow. Panting, their breaths clouded the air, smirking at each other. "That was fun." Sirius said breathlessly, licking his chapped lips.
"I concur."
Sirius snorted and released Severus' hands so he could jump to his feet. He began to walk away, feeling successful. Suddenly, Severus called out in a sing-song voice, "Oh, Bla-ack! One thing you should learn is to never turn your back on an enemy!"
A cold clump of snow was promptly shoved down the back of his shirt and jacket. Screaming from shock in an overly-dramatic manner, Sirius fell to the ground, chocolate eyes wide. Snape laughed, his throat unaccustomed to the noise.
Sirius raised an eyebrow and hissed, "Oh, you're soooo getting it!"
Severus' eyes widened. "Shiiii…" He turned and ran as Sirius jumped to his feet and gave chase.
A minute later, the doors of the Great Hall slammed open and Severus ran in, smirking and dodging the hail of snowballs as they flew at him. Ducking to the side, he grabbed the most convenient person there for cover-Remus Lupin.
One arm around Lupin's waist, the other holding a threatening snowball, Severus said smoothly, "Drop your ammo or I'll kill your friend."
Sirius gasped in mock terror as Remus fought back laughter. "How could you!" Sirius shouted, throwing his snowballs to the floor. "You suck, Snivellus!"
Severus smirked and released Remus, who began laughing. "Indeed. I win, pay up."
"We didn't bet on anything!" Sirius bellowed, ignoring their audience of Order members and about 8 students-the only ones who hadn't gone home for the holidays.
"Well, you knocked me onto the ice, so you owe me something." Severus said, sneering.
He was trying to look intimidating, but there was amusement gleaming in his eyes. "Fine. What do you want, huh?"
"One whole week of you not calling me Snivellus. And slave for a day. The rest of today." Severus said confidently.
Sirius groaned. "You suck, Snape." He held his hand out.
Severus handed him a snowball, smirking. "Shall we, then?"
"I hate you."
"Well, you've learned a valuable life lesson, haven't you? Never engage in a snowball fight with a Slytherin." Severus said smugly.
"I hate you a lot."