Written For:
The Golden Snitch "Be Grateful For Your Friends Challenge": (emotion) the joy of having a friend close, and quote: "Hurt me with the truth, but don't comfort me with a lie"
The Leaky Cauldron Secret Santa (Saltasaurus): ice skating, seeing your breath in the cold, Scorpius Malfoy, Scorpius/Albus
The Christmas Character Challenge: Jack Frost/Scorpius Malfoy
The snow crunched underneath Scorpius's feet, and a blast from the Whomping Willow had speckled his silver and green scarf with white. But he wasn't cold. He and Rose had spent the morning enchanting bluebell flames, and one still followed him like an umbrella of heat.
Albus had no such luxury. He was sitting on a log beside the lake, his dark hair dripping with melted snow. "Hey, Scorp. Shall we go to the kitchens, then?"
Scorpius shoved him playfully, then plopped down beside him. "No, Al. You promised."
Moaning dramatically, Al affixed Scorpius with the poutiest look he could manage. "I recall somebody saying that 'gliding around on ice with knives strapped to their feet is bloody ridiculous'." But he stood and walked towards the frozen shore. "I'd appreciate one of those bluebells, mate." Even in the early afternoon, mist was visible from his mouth as he spoke.
After a flick of Scorpius's wand, the blue fire split in half. Both halves grew, one flying towards Albus, who sighed in relief as his scarf and hat dried. "Much better."
"Rose and I spent all morning perfecting it. It's bloody cold out here." He followed his friend towards the lake, cautiously stepping after him. The ice did not crack under their weight. "Wonder how the giant squid is doing, under all this."
As if in response, the two boys saw a splash in the distance. "Maybe I show throw you in, huh, Scorp? Then you could ask him yourself." Another splash. "Seems he's fine, though."
"I should throw you in. You resemble the squid." Scorpius took another step, now almost two meters from Albus. "Both inside and outside. Anyway, let's see it."
Albus shoved one hand into his robes and pulled out his wand. In the same motion, he swept it in the direction of Scorpius's feet. "Cultro Calceus."
Albus felt himself rise slightly off the ground, and then he felt a sudden pressure across the center of his foot. He stumbled, then turned the fall into a slide, laughing as he saw the flashes of metal under his feet. "Brilliant!" He pushed himself towards Al, who copied the spell onto his own boots. "Oh Merlin, wait until Rose sees this! You did it, Al!"
His friend responded by summoning a wad of fresh snow, which soon made contact with Al's head. Shrieking with joy, the two boys skated further and further from the bank, wands out and white dust flying. The bluebell flames were quickly extinguished, and their scarves quickly came undone…
Finally Scorpius skid to a stop, panting. "This...Merlin...Al…so much fun…"
Al stopped beside him, hands on his knees. "This is so brilliant!" Then more seriously, he added, "thanks for this, Scorp. It's nice. Just the two of us."
"It is nice." Smiling, Scorpius dropped to his knees…
...and then the ice broke, and both boys were soaked from head to toe in freezing water…
...and then they felt a sharp shove from the depths, and they were flying through the air, only to land with their faces in the snow.
Al stood up, opened his mouth, let out an icy breath instead of speech, realized he was still wearing skates, then fell down again. Fortunately neither wand had broken; the first thing Scorpius did was conjure no fewer than fifteen bluebell flames in quick succession. It didn't fully keep away the biting cold, but both boys slowly stopped shivering as their clothes dried.
"We're going to get hypothermia." Scorpius looked at his scarf, torn on the ground in front of them. "Al. Hurt me with the truth, but don't comfort me with a lie. This was a horrible idea, wasn't it?"
But it seemed Al was uncharacteristically confident that day. "Nahh. We just went out too far. I had a great time, Scorp."
The other boy smiled. "Me too, Al. But - this was a horrible idea."
"Never mind. Let's see if Hagrid has hot chocolate."