Cordelia sighed as she continued down the path around Hogwarts. The memories of the summer that she had had that year stayed in her mind nearly every minute even though it was now close to winter. After she had kissed Regulus in the shadows of her home, he had avoided her like the plague.

"I was too brash…" she thought absently to herself. But he had kissed her back…didn't that mean anything? No probably not. She breathed in the harsh scent of winter, the cold air burning her nasal passages and she pulled her robes closer to her, trying to suppress a shudder. She was freezing cold but she didn't want to go back to the Slytherin common room. There was a party for the victory against whichever team in Quidditch…again. She hated those parties. Instead she was walking around the outskirts of the Black Lake. She was quiet, enjoying the silence.

Silence had always been her ally, her comfort, her friend. Silence could not judge her, would not hurt her. Silence was always there. Silence had always been there for her as a child as she played in the gardens surrounding her parent's mansion…what choice had she had then, what choice did she have now? Slowly she walked towards the dock, being careful to miss the rotted areas—which grew in size as she walked farther out—listening as the water sloshed against the beams that held the dock in place, heard even under the thin ice. She smiled. It was so cold that she could see her breath…yet not cold enough for the ice to be thick enough to skate on. Slowly she began to dance on the dock, allowing herself to imagine soft music, being mindful of those weak spots on the dock.

She wondered if this was what it was like for a princess in those muggle books she read felt like as they waited for Prince Charming to arrive on their faithful steed, dressed in armor and the woman offering a white handkerchief to him. No…that was silly. She was no princess. No knight would come for her. Besides what woman would be daft enough to wait for a man who could never arrive…wouldn't it be better to find your true love by yourself? Wouldn't it hurt less? She stopped spinning and she looked down, watching her reflection of the ice in the dim lighting of dusk.

"A lady of the Wizarding World does not speak until spoken to."

"Cordelia, get out of that tree! Honestly I did not raise my daughter to be a wild child!"

"Behave!"

"You will wear this dress!"

"Do not dance like those commoners of the muggle world, Cordelia!"

"You only dance when asked to and you will follow his lead."

"Otherwise you will stand upright and still."

"Do everything to please your parents…become someone so covered in their mask that they can't be sure who is real." Cordelia said. "That is your path you have to go down." She added softly.

"HEY!"

Startled by the voice Cordelia turned, accidentally stepping on a piece of the rotted wood. She barely managed to get out a quick scream before the wood shattered under her weight and she pitched backwards falling into the icy water. She shot up in seconds, gasping for air but it seemed that nothing could reach her lungs which seemed to have frozen the moment she crashed into the water. She sunk for a second and swallowed water, choking her. She began to cough violently as she attempted, rather weakly, to reach up to the dock with a frozen and numb hand, but couldn't reach up far enough. She vaguely heard footsteps running up on the dock, before she began to sink again. This time she made no attempt to struggle back to the air, to the surface.

Suddenly a larger hand gripped her numb wrist and dragged her back up to the real world, and she felt another arm wrap around her chest, dragging her back onto the dock. Her body suddenly was hit by another shock. The cold air wrapped around her, freezing her, chilling her to the very bone. She coughed violently, dragging into shuddering breaths in between each cough.

"What the bloody hell were you doing?" the voice asked and she looked up, connecting with the grey eyes that she had grown accustomed to seeing in the summer. Regulus looked absolutely panicked as he gripped her tighter.

"W-wha-at a-are you t-talking a-about?" She hissed out, her body shivering violently. "W-why d-did you y-yell? Y-you scared me to d-death!" she cried out, trying to look angry. It failed as he dragged her to him, wrapping his arms around her back and squishing her close to him. She dragged in violent breaths as her body reacted to the warmth, gripping him tightly as her shaking violently grew, but whether it was by the mere touch or the actual cold she couldn't be sure.

"Sorry. Oh Merlin, you're ice cold." He said. She offered a weak and stammering laugh.

"T-try f-falling into a l-lake in the middle of w-winter. Y-you lose your b-body heat e-exceptionally quickly." She stammered out. He cursed and to her surprise began to undo his own winter robe. "Y-you're wet t-too, M-Mr. Reg-gulus B-Black. K-Keep it."

"You're soaked to the bone Cordelia. Don't worry about it." He said, pulling his robe off and placing it on her shaking shoulders, synching it around her neck. She inhaled sharply and he sighed, running his warm hand that was slowly growing cold across her cheek. He then picked her up, bridal style.

"W-What are you-"

"You're soaking wet Cordelia. You'll either get hypothermia or frost-bite on your feet. And I'm not willing to let you go through that." Regulus replied. Cordelia was silent and made no comment as he trudged back to the castle, only letting her down when they reached the castle. Then—still holding her hand—they walked down the Slytherin House. They entered the common room, and to Cordelia's relief the party had tapered off, and there were no one in the common room. Regulus guided her to sit close to one of the fireplaces which she did willingly, pulling his cloak closer around her as she sat down, putting her hands in front of her and near the fire, warming her shaking hands slightly. Regulus sat down next to her. She was silent as she looked at him.

"How… have you been?" he asked slowly.

Cordelia shrugged. "Alright, I guess. You?"

Regulus sighed. "I've been better."

There was a long moment of silence. Eventually, Cordelia asked, "Why were you walking around Black Lake?"

"I wanted some fresh air." Regulus answered. "If you remember from that Gala last summer, I'm not big on parties…even if it is to celebrate a victory in Quidditch." He explained. There was silence once again.

"…you don't have to sit here with me…" she said, her voice soft. He looked at her.

"But I want to."

"Why? You've been avoiding me for months." She asked. He visibly flinched and looked away. They were silent as she stared again at the fire.

"I'm sorry…for the way I've been acting." He said after a few minutes. She looked at him quickly, shocked. "I…I know you didn't deserve that. You at least deserved some type of explanation." He said and her face grew red; she kneaded her hands together and then took a deep breath. She nearly flinched when he touched the base of her neck, cupping it.

"You needn't worry about my feelings." She said; her voice short.

"I know I don't. But I do worry…" he said. Her grip tightened on her hands…"Cordelia. Look at me." He said his voice soft and almost pleading. She wanted to resist…but she had no will power and turned, looking at him. "I'm sorry about avoiding you. I had a lot on my mind when the kiss…" he trailed off and she swallowed. "When we kissed…I had a lot on my mind right then…and I didn't react the right way…"

"Which part? Returning the kiss, giving me a kiss before you left, or avoiding me?" she asked. He flinched.

"The last part…" he said and she blinked.

"I don't know what to do…or what's going to happen." He said. "But I do know that I miss talking to you." He said and she stared at him in shock. He smirked. "Were you expecting something different?" he asked.

"In all honesty, yes." She said. He looked down.

"Gee thanks. So understanding relationships was more my brother's forte…I'll admit that." He murmured and she let out an airy laugh.

"Well your brother is infatuated with a woman at this moment…so I might agree to that." She teased and he finally smiled.

THIS IS A SLOW CHAPTER. BUT IT'S MORE CUTE THAN ANYTHING