Niveus Pluo

On the following night Olivia awoke to the sound of tapping. With her mind still in a sleepy haze she raised her head in an attempt to disconfirm what she had heard, but the sound continued with more persistency. Now fully awake, Olivia grabbed her wand from under her pillow and made her way slowly to the window. She drew back the curtains and exposed Hedwig perched on the sill with a piece of parchment in his beak. Relaxing a bit she quickly opened the window and took the note. Back in her bed, she thought 'lumos' and the tip of her wand erupted in a soft light glow. She scanned the note.

Olivia,

I know it's late but could you please meet me in the common room in five minutes? Oh, and put something warm on its cold out.

James

She looked down at the letter in disbelief. He couldn't be serious. Looking at her calendar she saw that it was a quarter to twelve and did he say something about going outside? Her first reaction was to pull up her covers and go back to sleep, but she knew her curiosity would probably keep her up. Rolling out of bed, she quietly put on some jeans, a sweater, her lamb skin coat, and snow boots. She also added a hat, scarf, and gloves just in case. She tiptoed out of the room and walked silently down the stairs where she found James in a heavy black blazer and a hat.

"I almost thought you wouldn't come," he said handing her a steaming cup of liquid which she recognized at once. "Here, drink this."

She drank the warming drought and felt its sensations spread from her stomach to the rest of her body. It felt like being submerged in a tub full of steaming hot water. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he walked out of the portrait hole and she followed.

Out in the dark corridor James pulled out a large cloak, "We'll have to hide under this, come here."

Laughing at the thought she said, "I doubt that cloak is going to keep us well hidden."

"It's not just any old cloak, it's an invisibility cloak, see?" he had covered his arm with part of the cloak and Olivia watched it disappear. She stood there amazed for a second before he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. They had to stand close together and crouch but Olivia knew she had become invisible to the world. She had never seen anything like it.

"Where on earth did you get this?" she asked as they began walking.

"It was a gift from my father," he answered, "but you'll have to lower your voice. We may be invisible but they can still hear us."

Olivia did not ask any more questions, far from trying to keep from being caught; she was still a bit shocked by the cloak and the entire situation. They made their way through the dark halls of the castle, with nothing but the soft light of James' wand lighting the way. Finally they reached a side entrance to the castle, which Olivia noted was conveniently unlocked. She wondered at the lengths James had to go through for this to happen. Once they were outside they let out a sigh of relief and quickened their steps. Aside from the few times when James would turn around to cast the spell that erased their tracks they did not stop once. They walked far onto the grounds away from the castle. For a moment Olivia thought they were headed towards the lake but as they approached it James guided them further left into a gathering of trees. It wasn't part of the 'Forbidden Forest' since that was on the opposite end of the grounds; she supposed it was just the part of the forest that stemmed from the mountains surrounding the lake. They walked through the trees for a couple of minutes when at last they reached a clearing. It was here that James stopped and pulled off the cloak. With the cloak off Olivia was able to take a good look around.

It was a clear night. The sky was a deep blue, that looked almost black, and it was littered with stars. She knew that on any other night they would have been in complete darkness out here, but tonight the moon was high above them. It's light was casting a soft glow all around them. The clearing where they stood was covered with smooth snow that glittered in the moonlight. It was so quite and still that it seemed unreal. And even when they spoke there voices did not seem to carry at all.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" James asked, he was watching her reaction carefully.

"How did you ever find this place?" she said as she continued to study the little winter wonderland.

"Detention, third year," he answered as he walked over to her. She raised an eyebrow at him. "I had to come out here and help Hagrid, the groundskeeper, tend to a wounded animal. It had fallen not to far from this clearing and as we were caring for the poor deer I couldn't stop looking over here. It was on a night just like this and it took my breath away. I try to come here every winter so I don't forget what it looks like."

Olivia took a seat on one of the many rocks that lined the clearing; she looked up at the sky. She couldn't remember ever seeing something so beautiful. The fact that James could appreciate beauty like this made her realized just how sensitive of a man he was. He took a seat next to her and for a moment they just sat there, admiring the magnificent scene before them. A little later Olivia looked down at the cloak James was holding on his lap.

"Do you often use that cloak for your late night strolls?" She had just remembered something.

Slipping the cloak into the pocket of his blazer he smiled at her. He knew what she was talking about.

"It was you? That night in the common room I thought I heard something, it was you wasn't it?" She was trying hard to sound angry.

"I'm sorry," he laughed. "I didn't mean to. I was about to sneak down to the kitchen for a late night snack when I saw you sitting there. I tried to keep quiet but I guess you heard. And then you stood up and pointed your wand straight at my chest, I was going to reveal myself to you but I thought you would be upset. So I just stood there until you went upstairs."

"Do you spy on all the girls with your cloak then?" she asked jokingly feeling a little better that she hadn't just imagined the noise.

"Only if they're as beautiful as you. So, no."

"You're horrible," and with that she grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at him.

"Oh you're going to get It." he cried and caught her with one of his own.

Soon they were pelting each other with snowballs. They weren't hard enough to hurt, but they were hard enough to leave a coating of snow on their jackets. She was laughing so hard in her feeble attempts to escape James' perfect aim. She ducked behind some of the bigger rocks and hid herself behind the trees but she always found herself at his mercy. They were having such a wonderful time and Olivia realized that they were finally on their first date. Finally, she surrendered and their little snowball fight was at an end. She stood there breathing hard watching him, she felt happy.

"Do you want to see something?" he asked.

When she nodded he waved his wand at a small mountain of snow on the ground and said "Niveus Pluo." At that instant the pile of snow scattered into the air above Olivia and began falling methodically around her. It was like a miniature snow fall. With a flick of his wrist the snow began swirling around her, she spread her arms out and looked up at the starry sky, the snow brushed her face lightly as it continued to swirl. Laughing she pulled James in with her and the snow began to fall slowly back to the ground. He was looking at her with his bright green eyes that were now sparkling in the moon light. Everything felt right to her, as if all the changes that had occured recently happened just so she would end up here, in this moment, with this person. He reached out and touched her face and Olivia kissed the palm of his hand. She put her hand over his and reached out for his waist. She pulled him closer wanting to feel his body next to hers. Grabbing her neck he pulled her into a gentle kiss, Olivia felt the familiar chill run down her spine. She wrapped her arms around him feeling as though she would never let go.

A/N: This was one of my favorite chapters to write. I dont know if you all have experienced a night like that. The scenery is so still and quiet that it feels surreal. Anyways if your curious Niveus Pluo is latin for 'snowy scattering' thanks and please review!