Fresh Snow, a Fresh Start
The feeling of falling into snow is described by many as like falling into a pile of very soft pillows, even when you fall from a great height. This sensation requires a significant pile of fresh, unpacked snow. Falling from a great height, Harry potter did not land in fresh unpacked snow.
Pulling himself out of a comically man-shaped imprint, Harry dusted the snow from his shoulders and following years of self-imposed survival training immediately observed his surroundings. Wherever he was, it definitely wasn't where he started off from.
Instead of the dark stone building that housed the Veil of Death, his entire surroundings were dense woodland, covered in snow, it was very scenic. Snow fell around him gently slowly adding to the half foot of snow that covered the ground already. Casting his eyes above Harry saw that the sun was beginning to set. Not wanting to be caught in the wilderness with no supplies and at night, Harry decided to walk onwards. There wasn't a path but staying put wouldn't get him shelter for the night. With a sigh, Harry started trudging through the snow.
Princess Anna of Arendell was worried. No worried didn't quite describe it. Perhaps frightened, no maybe panicking? On second thought worried is the right word. Princess Anna was worried, worried for her sister the newly crowned Queen Elsa who had ran off into the mountains only a few hours ago. What's more Elsa had magic!
Watching Elsa run across the ice as she escaped was amazing, but that moment when she threw her hand back and all that ice appeared was absolutely terrifying. So Anna was in two minds about the revelations she had made today concerning her sister. First she was surprised and a bit relieved to finally discover why her sister had kept away from her for so many years. Second she was terrified of what these powers might mean for Elsa and what might happen because of them. Anna wasn't a fool, she had heard some of the staff mention magic in passing and read up on it a bit in the Library. There wasn't much but Anna had found passages referring to great hunts for sorcerers and sorceresses and the outcomes of these hunts were never pretty. That would most definitely not be happening again. No matter what that weird guy with the monkey-chicken dance from Weasel town said!
Anna was currently riding her horse through the steadily thickening snow into the mountain. Perhaps not the best decision ever to go alone, but she needed to find her sister and fast!
As she progressed through the snow, she passed the many trees of the forest, all covered in a thick blanket of snow. When a sudden shift in weight on one of the trees caused the snow to fall off it Anna's horse panicked. It bucked her off and pelted away as fast as it could.
"Hey!" Anna shouted at the horse, get back here!" She was cut off from further shouting by a larger portion of snow collapsing on her head.
The horse didn't listen to its former rider and ran off into the trees. Scowling uncharacteristically, Anna dragged herself out of the snow and began pushing through the icy path towards the distant hilltop between herself and the mountain. When she reached the top, night was already fast approaching and the stars were appearing in the night sky.
"These clothes definitely aren't built for winter," Anna muttered as she hugged her slim frame, doing little to ward of the night time cold. That moment her eyes caught sight of smoke. "I'm saved!" Anna gasped, eagerly stepping forward and not minding the slippery ice beneath her feet. With a scream she fell forward, tumbling down the hilltop.
In another life Anna would have fallen into a small stream at the bottom of the hill and frozen her knickers off. Instead she narrowly avoided the river when she was caught in a pair of surprisingly firm arms. Anna pulled away with a blush on her face the moment she realised what had happened. Doing what she always did when she felt embarrassed, she pulled away and stood back on her feet, then she put on her most regal face.
"Thank you for saving me good sir," she began with aplomb, "I assure you though, that I had everything under control, and there was no need for you to have helpe…" Anna trailed off from her royal rambling, finally taking in the sight of her saviour. He was short for a boy, about 5'5, maybe 5'6 with messy windswept black hair and the most, stunning, pair of emerald green eyes that Anna had ever seen.
"Of course milady," the green eyed man replied, arms at his sides and palms open in a disarming gesture, "I could clearly see you had everything under control, as you fell down that hill," the disarming effect of his words was betrayed by the large grin across his face.
"Yes of course. Hey!" Anna shouted, only realising the joke for what it was mid-sentence, "I'd like to see if you could manage to balance up there!" Anna glowered at the young man before her with all her strength, but it failed to work as she noticeably shivered all down her body. Looking over her clothing the black haired man stepped forward.
"You look cold, those clothes definitely aren't meant for this weather, come on let's get you in that cabin, maybe they'll have something better suited for you." The man turned towards the wooden cabin across the stream and took a couple steps back, then he ran forward and with a mighty jump he cleared the water and landed neatly on the other side. Anna watched him, gobsmacked.
"How did you do that!" She cried from the other side. The stranger's grin lessened slightly as he turned back to her.
"It's just something I picked up, why can't you do it?" he replied.
"Of course not!" Anna shouted back, "you just jumped like fifteen feet, I didn't think anybody could do that! Hold on I'm coming over!"
Anna jumped onto a rock protruding out of the water, losing her balance slightly her arms and legs flailed about before she managed to right herself before jumping to another. She kept jumping from stone to stone until suddenly her foot slipped and she fell, once again into the arms of the stranger who had quickly jumped into the shallow water to save her from the freezing liquid. "Are you ok?" he asked as she turned away with a blush from the feel of his hands on her waist.
"O-of course," she replied, regaining her bravado, "I assure you though that I had everything under control then too."
The man grinned again before carrying the girl out of the water and setting her down on her feet in the snow. Anna looked over his clothes which began it ice over. "Oh my you must be freezing!" she gasped as the frigid water formed ice over his pants and the lower part of his cloak, freezing them into place.
"It's not that bad don'…" the Princess didn't take no for an answer and grabbed his wrist before dragging him quickly towards the shack. With a bemused expression on his face Harry Potter allowed the girl to drag him forward into the warmth offered by the cabin.
"Thank goodness," Anna said as she rubbed her arms, the warmth inside the building was helping to return the feeling back into her fingers, "are you ok?" she asked her companion.
"I told you I'm fine," Harry said exasperatedly, "seriously it's only a little cold, and I'd think you'd have at least asked for my name first before dragging me here like you did just now."
With a blush on her cheeks Anna looked away, "I was just trying to help," she mumbled, "anyway what were you doing catching me like that if we'd not been introduced yet!" she returned strongly. Clearly the warmth indoors had rekindled her gusto.
"I was doing what any decent man would do and saving the beautiful damsel in distress," he replied with a grin, eliciting another blush from the girl who glared at him once again.
"I'm not just some princess that needs saving you know! Well I am a princess but I'm not the kind that needs saving all the time."
"Still a princess though?" The black haired man asked cheekily, "anyway perhaps we should introduce ourselves, my name is Harry, Harry Potter. It is very nice to meet you Princess…"
"It's Anna, thanks for saving me by the way, that water looked freezing. I'm surprised you're not catching frostbite," Anna replied. It was strange, the newly introduced Harry didn't seem to react to the cold at all.
"Well I've had a lot of experience with the cold you see. For months on end I couldn't warm up at all so you get used to it after a while. That water out there was nothing compared to what I've seen."
Anna was about to reply when she was cut off by the hmming of a man who had silently watched their conversation until just now. "Hello!" he said cheerily in a surprisingly strong Swedish accent, "My name is Oaken and I am pleased to tell you we are offering a large discount on all our summer wears, half price on everything, and I'll even throw in a special sun balm of my own invention!"
Ignoring the small snort and muttered "discount?" from Harry, Anna stepped forward towards the counter, "actually you wouldn't happen to have any winter clothes and some boots I could buy would you?" she asked.
"Ah well you would have to look at our winter stock," Oaken replied gesturing towards the far wall where a thick cloak and other winter gear was stocked, including a pickaxe.
"Brilliant," Anna said, making her way towards the winter gear. Before she could pick up the winter gear the door flew open and a figure in white stepped imposingly through the door. On closer inspection he was covered entirely in snow from head to toe. Anna watched him step up towards the counter, standing right in front of Harry who looked him up and down with interest.
"Sorry am I in your way?" Harry asked when the man did nothing for a few seconds, seemingly just staring at him.
"Yes" the white man said gruffly through the fabric wrapped around his mouth.
Harry stepped aside, letting the stranger reach for the carrots on a shelf behind Harry.
Oaken looked upon his new customer who had dropped the carrots on the counter with a friendly smile. "Is there anything else you would like my friend?"
"Yeah, actually you wouldn't have any rope and an ice pick would you?" the man replied as he pulled off his hood and scarf revealing smooth skin and blond curls on top of his head, "I lost it trying to navigate the snow up in the mountains. There's something strange going on up there."
"The mountains?" Anna asked suddenly interested, "you wouldn't say anything magical was going on would you?"
"Well yeah actually, the now blonde haired man said, "it just came on so suddenly. That's never happened like that before."
"What's this about magic?" Harry enquired towards Anna curiously, "Is there a magic user causing this frost?"
"Well actually yeah, you see she's my sister and everyone saw her use magic and then she ran off and so I came out to try and find her and bring her home safe," Anna said in a rush.
"Really, well do you need any help? I don't know the area around here well but I have a bit of experience with magic, if I can lend a hand I will," Harry said, his mind going fifty miles a second. Another magic user?
"You would help? That's awesome thanks a lot Harry!" Anna smiled at her new friend. He was kinda attractive, but obviously nowhere near as good looking as Hans.
"We're going to need a guide though," Harry said.
Anna eyed the blonde haired stranger. Who had brought the ice pick and rope to the counter and who was currently trying to haggle with the store owner. "Come on all I have is ten, is there any chance I could pay you back?"
"I'm sorry but we don't take store credit," Oaken replied with a friendly smile, "Though ten will get you these," he said, pushing the carrots forward.
"Errr hey," Anna said, "you've been up in the mountains right? Well could you perhaps escort me and my friend up to the top, you see my sist…"
"Woah, are you crazy? it's too dangerous out there," Turning away from the girl he looked at Oaken, "Look all I have is ten isn't there anything you can do?"
"I'm sorry my friend but all I can offer you is the carrots, but I'll throw in a free hour in our spa," Oaken replied, gesturing to another door where a group of people, his family from the looks of it, were enjoying the heat. The blonde man grumbled something under his breath and Oaken's face turned from its seemingly customary smile to a frown. With a hurt expression on his face he stood up, revealing his massive frame.
"What did you call me?"
Kristoff was not having a good day. First this mysterious blizzard had appeared and almost killed him and Sven, after that he had to navigate off the mountain almost blind! and then he had been kicked out of the shop by that giant of a man. Honestly he didn't say anything!
But there was at least an upside to everything. While they didn't get the equipment they wanted Kristoff and Sven had holed up inside a woodshed for the night. The hay was warm and the wooden walls did a lot to stave off the frost outside. They had finally begun to relax and taken part in a small duet as they liked to do before bed and then settled down, they were just about to nod off. The sudden appearance of the girl from the trading post served to disturb their dreamtime.
Kristoff didn't know how he had been convinced to guide the girl up the mountain along with her dark haired friend but he found himself at the reins of Sven as they flew through the snow at a decent pace. Anna was twittering about something to his side and Harry, the dark haired man was stuck in the uncomfortable position sat on top of the supplies at the back of his sled.
"So explain to me why we're going up there?" Kristoff asked.
"it's all my fault," Anna sighed, "I got engaged and then my sister freaked out only because I'd just met him, you know; that day and sh…"
"Wait a sec," Hary said, leaning forward so his head was between the shoulders of the two people in front. "You got engaged to a man you just met?"
"Yeah, anyway she got mad an…"
Kristoff pulled on the reindeer's reigns, slowing them down to a halt before he turned in his seat to look at his passenger alongside Harry. "You got engaged to a man you just met that day!?"
Both boys were looking at the girl like she had lost a few too many marbles. "Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers or anything?" Kristoff asked. Anna gulped, suddenly eyeing the still clearly shocked Kristoff nervously as she scooted further away from him in her seat.
"Yes they did, but Hans is not a stranger."
"Oh yeah, what's his last name?"
Anna scoffed, "Of the Southern Isles."
"Favourite food?"
"Sandwiches"
"Eye colour?"
"Dreamy"
"Foot size?"
"Foot size doesn't matter."
Kristoff turned to Harry with a raised eyebrow that was returned in kind. "I think that's enough questioning…" Harry said with a wry grin.
Anna crossed her arms and looked away from the two boys, "Doesn't matter if I don't know a lot about him, it's true love."
"Oh really?" Harry snarked from behind her.
"Doesn't sound like true love," Kristoff finished.
"So what you're some sort of love expert?"
"No"
"Kinda"
Kristoff turned to look at the man behind him, who sported a sad smile. No words were said but a subtle nod went between the two, completely missed by Anna.
"Oh really?" Anna Asked, "You don't look like any kind of love expert."
"Well one of my tutors used to talk about love a lot when I was younger, he made a really big deal of it," Harry replied with a grimace at the anecdote. "How far away are we from the mountain Kristoff?"
"About twenty minutes on sled but another twenty on foot I'd think depending on how far we have to travel up it, especially with the princess over there." Kristoff said with a nod towards Anna. Anna was about to retort but Harry's hand came over her mouth suddenly and she couldn't talk.
"Shh, Kristoff, you hear that?"
"Yeah." Kristoff unhooked the lantern from the sled and raised it out so the light spread further, hoping to get a better view of whatever they had heard.
Growling came from the trees as several pairs of maliciously glowing eyes appeared through the mist, they came closer revealing them to belong to a pack of wolves. Sven took the initiative and immediately took off running through the snow. The wolves gave chase.
Harry grabbed a torch from the back and handed it to Kristoff who lit it using the fire from his lantern. A wolf jumped at him, claws primed to tear at his throat. Lighting the torch couldn't' have been a moment too soon and Kristoff managed to knock the animal away with a strong swipe. Sven kept Running through the darkness as a sudden wind built up, picking up recently fallen snow into a flurry that drove the wolves back but didn't deter them for long as they immediately gave chase again. Safe for now but not out of danger, Sven kept up the pace as they raced through the trees.
"Is everybody ok!?" Harry asked over the gale?"
"I think so," Anna replied shakily as the adrenaline died down from their close encounter, "Kristoff?"
"Yeah I'm fine, he said, putting the torch into a small hole in the sled which would hold it up, allowing more vision just like the lantern did. He settled down and reached for the reins to the sledge when his eyes opened in alarm. "Sven watch out!?"
The chasm beneath them was coming fast and the trio couldn't slow down the sled in time. Kristoff grabbed Anna by the waist and flung her up onto Sven before cutting the reigns from the sled. "Jump Sven!" Sven Jumped across the open air while Kristoff and Harry simultaneously leapt for the safety of the snowy land ahead of them.
Anna landed safely and quickly climbed off Sven to see if either of the men had survived. Turning around she could see Harry pulling Kristoff to his feet from the snow. Clearly it had been a close call. Kristoff peered over the side of the chasm to see his sled destroyed at the very bottom. Harry put a hand on the blonde's shoulder in an effort to console him but clearly that sled meant far more to him than Harry or Anna might have guessed.
"Come on, mate we'll sort something out. Who knows we might be able to recover some of it when this snow clears." Kristoff gave a weak smile at the other man's words but clearly he was still hung up on his loss.
"Yeah I'll be more than happy to get you a new one," Anna said.
"Fine, let's just get this over with anyway," Kristoff said and they continued on foot towards the mountain.
Hooray, an update! A lot of filler here to be honest, though a little character development. I have removed the first "chapter" as I have decided that it's no longer useful to the story and is more of a hindrance more than anything. I might post an equivalent chapter as a separate one shot on my page though.