A/N: This fic was absolutely inspired by and written for Romi's prompts on her Autumn Flash-fic Challenge, Week 1. Also written for:

- Scrabble Challenge, prompt: Lucy Weasley

- The Flower Language Challenge, prompt Rose: write about a romance.

- The Ultimate Shipping Challenge Extravaganza, with Lucy/Lysander.

- fan-fiction terms category competition, prompt: profile, write about someone revealing a secret.

- Different Genre Competition, prompt: Romance

Cold Winters and Whisky Kisses

She dragged her frozen feet along the thick blanket of snow towards the little gazebo behind Zonko's, thoroughly disgruntled. The blustery autumn that had robbed the year of a long, warm summer was followed by a freezing winter that had decided to bring snow in October. It turned all the green in the otherwise verdant landscape into a cold, soulless white which irritated Lucy immensely.

The air around her was filled with excited voices that belonged to children and adults who were happily enjoying the early winter. The Three Broomsticks was overflowing with couples who wanted to spend the freezing afternoon melting in the warmth of each other's arms and several, overflowing mugs of butterbeer.

"Ouch!"

Lucy spun around angrily as an enchanted snowball caught her squarely between the shoulder blades. The spot stung sharply and she was sure she'd develop a nasty-looking bruise there pretty soon.

She found herself staring into the grinning faces of Roxanne, Hugo and Lily. "It was him!" the two girls clamoured in unison, pointing to a smirking Hugo as they caught the look of seething annoyance on Lucy's face.

"Roxy, Lily, Hugo," she drew the names out slowly, walking towards her cousins with even, measured steps. "Are you or are you not my little cousins?"

The trio nodded mutely, wondering where their elder cousin was headed.

"And do you or do you not know just how much I hate the stupid snow?"

Roxanne nodded again like the obedient child that she was while Lily and Hugo shook their heads.

"I thought it was Rosie who didn't like the snow," Hugo offered lamely as Lucy's nostrils flared in anger.

"We're sorry, Luce!" They cried out and pounced on her at once, hugging her tight. If there was one thing they would never forget, it was Lucy Weasley's famous temper. "Oof!" Lucy wobbled as the weight of the three children toppled her balance and she fell onto the snow in a pile of fur and children.

"HUGO!" Her yells fell on deaf ears as her cousins giggled merrily, making no effort to get up. "Argh, get off me!" she panted, thoroughly out of breath.

"Need a hand there, Luce?"

She heard an amused voice emanate from somewhere behind her and struggled to locate it.

"Hey, just move the little ones aside and take my hand." The voice was now by her left ear and Lucy just about caught sight of fair, slender fingers that were dangling before her face.

"Roxy, Lily…move!" She gently rolled her chattering cousins to their side and onto the snow. Oblivious, they promptly began making snow angels while Lucy struggled to catch her breath, acutely aware of the boy standing patiently by her side.

"Here, grab my hand," he offered again, and this time Lucy did.

"Lysander, hey! I didn't expect to see you here." He was probably the only other friend she had who detested the cold half as much as she did.

He smiled at her, a warm, searing smile that set her insides on fire and brought a blush creeping to her cheeks. She looked down, a sudden shyness coming over her while he grasped her hands softly.

"Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" He examined her palms softly and she shook her head in silence.

"I'm okay," she managed to choke out.

"Good. Were you headed towards the gazebo?" She vaguely wondered if he'd been following her all this while as she replied.

"Yeah, I really need to escape from this sodding cold. Dominique and James dragged me out here on the premise of 'sibling bonding. However, James is now with Fred and Karl, tipsier than I've ever seen him while Domi is busy locking lips with Kyle Wood." She rolled her eyes in mock-annoyance.

"What are you doing out here, all by yourself? I thought you were the one person I could count upon to curse this bloody weather along with me." She shot him a questioning look as the pair made it to the gazebo and she lowered herself upon the cold stone bench, relieved to be away from the howling winds.

"Well," he grinned at her impishly. "I have my own supply of warmth right here." He extricated a bottle of firewhisky from his coat and winked at Lucy before uncorking the bottle and gulping a huge mouthful of it.

"See? Instant warmth," he proclaimed happily, and Lucy shook her head at him, laughing.

"Tsk, Tsk, Lysander Scamander, Ravenclaw prefect and resident goody-two-shoes of the sixth year batch. I never thought I'd live to see this day," Lucy teased, shoving him playfully with her shoulder.

He shoved her back gently and then put an arm across her shoulders, pulling her close. The laugh died on Lucy's lips and her mouth dropped as he snuggled her close to him.

"Ly?" she ventured carefully, wondering if it was the firewhisky that was making him act strange.

"Shhh. Close your eyes and listen," he commanded. He placed the bottle on his lap, placed a warm palm over Lucy's eyes and then closed his own.

The pair sat there for a few magical moments, hidden from sight by the overhanging arches of the gazebo as they listened to the whispers of the wind and the soft swooshing sound that the snowflakes made as they joined hundreds more on the ground.

"Do you hear that?" he whispered into her ears after a minute, and Lucy jumped at the proximity of his voice.

He didn't wait for her to reply as a look of concern crept into his eyes, taking away the mirth that danced in them previously.

"By Merlin, Luce, you're bloody freezing! Why are you this cold despite the million layers you have on you?"

It took a minute for Lucy to remember just how cold she was. "Erm…I'm cold like that?" She said weakly, still overwhelmed by the strong arm around her.

Since when did Lucy Weasley begin to have feelings for Lysander Scamander?

The boy looked at her severely and offered the bottle of firewhisky to her. "Here, have a sip or two. It works miracles, believe me."

Lucy balked visibly. "Er, no thanks, Ly. I'm okay here."

His eyes narrowed at her reluctance as he put the pieces together. "Are you telling me that you've never had firewhisky before?"

Lucy mustered up the courage to respond. "I haven't ever had firewhisky or butterbeer or anything from the Three Broomsticks, ever," she confessed.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, you silly boy, that I haven't ever really needed to drink -"

"Needed? It tastes fantastic, the weather is mental; this is the universe's way of telling you, Lucy Weasley, to have some firewhisky!"

Lucy laughed outright at the passion in the boy's voice. "The odour puts me off, Ly," she managed between laughs.

"Okay, so I wasn't being strictly honest when I said that I've never had it. Teddy and Vic decided that my fifteenth birthday would be incomplete without some and sneaked it into my glass when I wasn't looking. I literally sprayed it out, Ly, it was so embarrassing!" She coloured slightly at the thought of the handsome boy being present to witness that moment on her birthday.

The pair laughed about it for a minute and then settled into a comfortable silence. They'd talked away through the setting of the sun and were now bathed in a soft, violet twilight. Lucy only then noticed the peaceful silence that had descended upon the village. Only the sixth and final years were allowed to stay out till ten at night and Lucy was in no mind to disrupt what she'd been having with Lysander.

"Hey, here. You're shivering like crazy. This," he presented the bottle of firewhisky again, only now it was covered with what looked like a very woolly sock. "Is a bottle of pumpkin juice. Nothing but sweet pumpkin juice, and it's going to warm you up, okay?"

She began to shake her head in protest, but then changed her mind. Her eyes grew wide as he brought the bottle to her lips. "Just a sip," he promised. She screwed her eyes shut, unable to say no to him. Somewhere along the day, Lucy realised she'd fallen for Lysander.

"Here goes," she whispered. She then downed the contents of more than half the bottle down her throat.

"Bloody hell, that was fantastic!" she crowed. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sparkling with strange desire. Lysander couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her looking this way.

"Lysander, thank you for giving me the happiest winter evening ever!" she whooped, throwing her arms around him in abandon.

"Whoa, hey!" he laughed, holding on to her tight. "And here I was thinking you detested firewhisky!"

Lucy brought her face to Lysander's, their noses nearly touching. She kissed him softly on the tip of his nose and then his cold lips while he stared at her in open surprise.

"Here's to cold winters and whisky kisses," she whispered against his mouth.

He stared at her for a minute before catching her lips in a passionate kiss.

I'm glad I found you today," he told her as they sat on the gazebo bench, warm and happy. "I've been meaning to tell you since forever…"

"You liked me since…?"

"Fourth year."

Lucy smiled at him happily and placed another kiss on his cheek. "Me, too."

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