His hair is dark, messy, his green eyes shining bright with the promise of another snowy day. This is what he loves- snow fights, snowmen, charming snowballs to hit teachers when they aren't looking, like his Uncle George told him to. It's the promise of the game, the promise of hot chocolate by the fire afterwards as well. His thick, heavy shoes are already soaking, and the rim of his coat- well, if Grandma Weasley were there, she would scold him, but she's not.
Behind him he drags another boy, this one the complete opposite of him. With blond hair that lay flat on his forehead, a bored expression, and winter furs that definitely were not included in his school uniform, you could almost be forgiven for thinking that the son of Malfoy didn't want to be there. Almost, but no quite, for everyone in Hogwarts knew that Scorpius Malfoy does nothing that he doesn't want to do.
"Al," he says calmly at the boy who has his wrist. "Al, what are you doing to me this time?"
"C'mon, Lorcan says the snow's perfect, not like last week. I promise you won't get dirty, really."
"Al, Lorcan still believes that Wrackspurts are the reason you don't turn your homework in on time. I wouldn't trust him on this."
"Don't be a spoilsport."
Scorpius rolls his eyes, but follows the green-eyed monster into the fray.
The Hogwarts lawn is not, of course, crowded with people. It is Christmas, after all. But Al's father is on a very important mission with Uncle Ron, and of course his mother is off gallivanting at the same time, covering the Holyhead Harpies' tour of Europe. This was a very inconvenient thing for the whole family, but Al likes it at Hogwarts anyway, and after all, at least he gets to stay with Scorpius this Christmas instead of Scorpius being practically alone in Malfoy Manor.
So it is Scorpius, Al, James, and Lily; Rose stayed, too, practicing for her NEWTs despite it only being sixth year, but Hugo went home to spent time with Aunt Hermione. Then there are Lorcan and Lysander, who are staying while their mother hunted Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in Sweden, and their father humored her. There are a few more people, of course, but Al doesn't know them and doesn't really care.
"Al," Scorpius whines, undignified, even though Malfoys don't whine and are certainly never undignified. This is what Al does to him. "Can't we just go back to the common room and snog or something?"
"No. Lives are at stake here. I have to get James first or he'll laugh at me all year."
"Then can we go back to the common room?"
"If James doesn't kill me, then yeah. Sure."
Scorpius sighs, and wishes- not for the first time- that he hadn't been stuck in Gryffindor with Al. He retracts it as soon as he thinks it, of course- where would he be without him? Probably still locked in a cold, green and silver Slytherin closet, with Vincent Goyle as his only friend.
Scorpius is suddenly glad that he is a Gryffindor, and reaches down to pat a perfectly shaped, round, snowball to throw at James's head.
Scorpius is successful in his venture; Al is not. But, as Al argues, they are practically the same person now, so technically he still got James first. No one really understands this, but they let it slide anyway, and finally Scorpius gets to go back to the common room and snog Al, which is all he really wanted to do anyway.
Afterwards, when they are lying across the red and gold couches, Scorpius muses, "What if life was different?"
"What do you mean?" asks Al, his voice muffled by tiredness.
"What if I were in Slytherin, and you not? Or you here, a Gryffindor, and I not? What if either one or both of us was on the straight and narrow path of sexuality? Where would we be?"
"Doing homework like we were supposed to."
Scorpius laughs, and tries to untangle the mop Al calls hair. "It's the holidays. We don't have homework."
"You don't."
"Oh yes, I forgot. Poor, poor, Al. Left with a mountain of Transfiguration homework because he turned Professor Mc Gonagall into a dog by accident."
"Damn straight."
Scorpius laughs, and Al just whines back at him about deadlines and teachers with scary hats and scowls, and the fact that Scorpius refuses to do it for him, no matter how smart the blond is.
Al doesn't really care about the homework, though, and both boys know it'll be done in a rush with help from Rose later on. For now it's just them, and the fire, and the hope that no one will walk in on them. It's just the mugs of chocolate that Winky brings them, and the slowly slipping to sleep tangled in each other's limbs.
It's just life, and in life there is no room for what-ifs.
A/N: I've been away for a while, so I thought I'd quickly rustle up a fic. Random plot bunny, nothing more- although I think that ending was a bit dodgy (what were they doing on that couch?).
Reviews are appreciated but not demanded, all will be used to feed Al's pet ferret.
Karma Out.