don't let me go
Regulus was on his way back to the Slytherin Common Room when he was accosted by James.
He would have been more surprised if it wasn't such a regular thing. At least once or twice a week, Regulus would be walking down a corridor, minding his own business, when James Potter would dash out from around a corner or a classroom or some nearby alcove and drag him away. Sometimes it was some elaborate ploy to try and seduce Regulus, but most of the time he just wanted to show him something.
It was such a common phenomenon that Regulus was rarely shocked, and generally just allowed himself to be whisked away from whatever he was doing with minimal complaint. It was much easier that way.
"What is it this time?" Regulus asked when James finally stopped rushing through the castle, Regulus's wrist tight in his grip.
"Black Lake," James replied breathlessly. "Everyone's down there."
"It's too cold outside to go down to the lake," Regulus replied, trying to pull his wrist free. "I was going to go to the library and meet Barty—"
James spun around to raise his eyebrows. "It's the Christmas holidays, are you out of your mind? Why on earth were you going to the library?"
"The library is still open during the holidays, James."
"That doesn't mean you have to study at Christmas!"
Regulus rolled his eyes. "I was just going there to read."
James shook his head, and pulled Regulus towards the large front doors. "Well, this is much more fun. You can go to the library any time. You can only do this during winter."
"I don't have my coat—James—"
James paid no attention as he dragged Regulus out onto the grounds outside. Regulus gave up on trying to argue. If James wanted to show him something, he wouldn't rest until he'd done it.
He realised pretty quickly what the commotion was about. Almost all the students that had remained at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays were down by the lake, which Regulus noticed had completely frozen solid overnight. There were figures sliding around on top of the icy surface, some wearing ice skates, some just in their normal shoes, slipping around inelegantly.
"Oh no," Regulus groaned as it dawned on him what James wanted him to do. "No, no, no."
"Yes, yes, yes!" James replied excitedly, and he finally let go of Regulus's wrist so he could race down to the edge of the lake. "Come on!"
Regulus didn't understand this yearly tradition that seemed to have become a rite of passage for any students who remained at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays. When the temperature would drop and the Black Lake froze over, the students would flock down to skate on it until they were called back into the castle by the professors. Regulus had only remained at the school a few times for the Christmas period, and whenever he did he stayed well clear of the shenanigans that went on down at the Black Lake.
He had no interest in freezing his backside off trying to slide around a slippery lake, or embarrassing himself when he inevitably fell over.
James was in his last year at Hogwarts, and it happened to be the first Christmas he'd not gone home for the holidays, so Regulus understood why he was so excited about the prospect—but then again, James got excited about everything.
"James, I don't do this!" Regulus said as he reached the lake's edge. James was sitting on the bank with his rucksack between his legs, pulling out a pair of ice skates. "Where the hell did you get those?"
"Bought them from Hogsmeade," James replied excitedly. "I got you a pair too." James pulled a pair of simple black skates out of the bag and handed them to Regulus. "So now you have to come ice skating with me." He flashed a cheeky grin at Regulus, and Regulus groaned.
"Surely Sirius told you that I don't do this," Regulus said as he looked out at the lake. He could see Sirius out on the ice, practically dancing as he skated with Remus. Unlike Regulus, Sirius routinely took to the ice during the winter, and as such had become very good at skating.
James snorted. "Sirius doesn't know I've brought you down here, obviously," he replied. "He would never have agreed to it. What if you fell over and hurt your precious backside?" James lowered his voice, even though there was no one close enough to hear him. "Or what if I tried to have my way with you on the lake, even though there's loads of people around?"
Regulus paused. "Well, that is how his mind works."
"Exactly why I didn't tell him," James said. "Put your skates on. By the time he notices you're out there with me, it'll be too late."
Regulus groaned defeatedly and sat down on the bank to kick off his shoes. He pulled on the ice skates and staggered to his feet, struggling to balance on the thin blades. "I don't like this."
James was already standing up with his skates on, and Regulus rolled his eyes at how well he was managing to hold his balance. "Are you worried you're going to fall?" James smirked. "Don't worry, I'll catch you." He stepped out onto the ice, and Regulus watched in irritation as he glided perfectly out on the surface.
"Have you done this before?" Regulus demanded to know. James made it look so easy—maybe it wasn't that hard? He took a careful step onto the ice, and managed to balance in an ungainly fashion for all of a few seconds, before wobbling dramatically and nearly crashing onto his face.
James grabbed him by the arm and pulled him upright. "I may have had a small practice before I came to find you," James admitted. "I couldn't look after you if I wasn't going to be any good at it myself, could I?" James waited until Regulus was steady again, then skated backwards away from him a little, before moving in a circle around him.
"Potter!"
The voice was all too familiar, and Regulus knew that Sirius was advancing on them before he even turned around. Sure enough, Sirius skidded to a halt beside James moments later, spraying chips of ice everywhere. Remus slid up behind him, grinning at Regulus.
"Hey, Reg," Remus said kindly. "Glad you finally decided to join us on the ice. I never thought I'd see the day."
"Me either," Sirius said, eyeing Regulus suspiciously. "What made you decide to change your pledge to—what was it?" Sirius lilted his voice in an annoying impersonation of Regulus. "Never do something so tragically pathetic in my life!"
Regulus rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to James. "I didn't really have much choice," he muttered.
James laughed cheerfully. "Oh, stop with the big brother nonsense just for a day, Sirius," he said. "We're just having some fun!"
"Yes, except I know exactly what kind of fun you plan to get up to with him," Sirius snapped. He pointed two fingers to his own eyes, then directed one at James. "I'm watching you, Prongs." He spun around effortlessly on one skate, and glided across the lake. Remus grinned back at James and Regulus.
"I'd probably try and keep whatever romantic shenanigans you were planning to a minimum," he commented, before skating off to catch up with Sirius.
"There is—" Regulus tried to risk moving slightly, holding his arms out in an attempt to maintain some balance. "Nothing—" he staggered, hardly daring to take another step. "Romantic about this—argh!" as he took another careful step, he almost careened to the ground again, but James was right in front of him. He grabbed hold of the front of his coat desperately. "Hold me!" he yelped.
James sniggered. "Aww, are you scared?"
"No!" snapped Regulus, but he didn't let go of James. "It's...chilly."
"Sweet." James looped his arms around Regulus's torso and smiled down at him.
"James."
"Yeah?"
"I'm tired of ice skating," Regulus looked up at him pleadingly. "You've had your fun watching me struggle around like a deer on ice."
"That is true," James mused. He leaned slightly closer to Regulus, so he could speak suggestively into his ear. "Shall we slip away for a bit?" he glanced around, and Regulus knew he was checking to see if Sirius was watching them.
Regulus smirked. "So long as we can get some hot chocolate first," he replied. "I'm freezing."
Written For:
- Assignment #11/Floristry Task #5: Write about someone being cheerful
- Winter Funfair/Naughty or Nice: Naughty 16. (dialogue) "Shall we slip away for a bit?"
- Winter Funfair/Guess the Name: Character 8. (setting) Ice Rink
- Winter Funfair/Decorate the Christmas Tree: Tree Topper 9. (character) Remus Lupin
- Winter Funfair/Hot Chocolate Station: 5. (scenario) Character A is celebrating a holiday/tradition with friends and/or family.
- Winter Funfair/Shoebox to Charity: 20. (emotion) tired
- Winter Funfair/12 Days of Shipmas: Day 8. (drink) Hot Chocolate
- Winter Funfair/Magical Mistletoe: 3. (word) icy
- Winter Funfair/Christmas Karaoke: 14. (dialogue) "Hold me, it's chilly."
- Writing Club/Gotta Catch Them All: 13. (action) dancing
- Writing Club/Film Festival: 18. (plot point) getting scared for a silly reason
- Writing Club/Elizabeth's Empire: 4. (drink) hot chocolate
- Writing Club/Sophie's Smut Bucket: 2. (word) Seduce
- Writing Club/Throwback: 2. (setting) Lake
- Writing Club/Artist Appreciation: 3. Write about someone being propositioned.
- Writing Club/Buttons: Emotions 5. Cheerful
Word Count: 1,424