Friday morning brought howling winds and a blizzard of thick snow. By the afternoon, it had subsided slightly into a heavy snowfall. As dusk began to approach the snow lightened. The wind was nearly gone and in the aftermath of the storm, the grounds were silent but for the whisk whisk of large flakes falling, tapping one another and settling onto the ground. The world had turned white.

Harry liked to take advantage of the weather to have some time alone, which was often hard to come by in the winter months. Telling Ron and Hermione he was going to visit Hedwig, Harry set off for the Owlery.

He walked slowly across the snow-covered earth, not only because the snow was deep and thick but also because he enjoyed the atmosphere. The falling light in addition to the softly falling snow was beautiful to behold.

Inside the Owlery, Harry spent some time holding Hedwig, stroking her gently, and feeding her small treats. Occasionally, he would murmur something–whatever was on his mind–to her. She seemed to like hearing his voice after long periods of being apart.

Outside, lamps sputtered into life as dusk fell. Harry decided it was probably time to go back to the castle. Hedwig seemed to understand him, and she flew off. He set off down the path to the castle, passing from one circle of torchlight to the next.

Harry noticed someone walking down the path towards him. It was hard to make out who it was in the dark, with the snow still falling. He peered ahead as he walked. He judged that they would meet under the next lamp.

When he stepped into the next ring of light, he stopped walking. A second later, the other person also stepped into the light.

"Malfoy?"

"Potter?"

"What... um," Harry checked his tone. "What are you doing here?"

"Going to the Owlery," Malfoy said carefully. "And you?"

"I, um, I was just visiting Hedwig." Harry clarified, "My owl."

"Yes, Potter, I'm well aware of who Hedwig is," said Malfoy, taking a step forward.

Harry felt himself doing the same. "Erm. Lovely weather, isn't it?"

Malfoy took another step. Harry hoped this whole "close proximity" thing wasn't becoming a habit... he thought that's what he hoped.

"Um. I feel like it's a shame that the snow covers up sunsets, even though they're both beautiful, I mean, I think they'd be even more beautiful together, don't you think? Especially this kind of snow–"

"Shut up."

Harry shut up. They were standing less than a foot apart now, directly under the lamp shedding a warm, yellow light. Wet flakes drifted from the sky and landed in their hair, on their faces. Harry met Malfoy's eyes and again (briefly, this time) marvelled at how out of his league he was.

Malfoy, his grey eyes focused on Harry's green pair, leaned down slightly, head tilted to the right. This time he didn't miss.

Harry closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss. His hands came up to frame the other boy's face. He felt Malfoy's hands press into the small of his back. He could taste something, almost minty, on his lips.

Malfoy pulled his face back slightly and opened his mouth to speak, but found that Harry's thumb was confining his lips. Harry stared into Malfoy's eyes. They were unreadable. He leaned forward and slipped his hand out of the way.

This kiss was more passionate and less tender than the last. Malfoy's hands exerted more pressure, bringing the boys closer together. Their mouths pressed together with force. Harry could feel himself starting to get hard as his groin rubbed against Malfoy's body.

Suddenly, Malfoy tore away completely. He backed up in a defensive crouch and pressed his hands to his temples. He seemed to ignore Harry totally, eyes focused down. "Fuck. Fuck! I..."

He took a sobbing breath. Then, passingly, he met Harry's eyes before he spun and ran back towards the castle, into the dark.

Harry stood alone in the pool of light. Lightly, his fingers touched his lips. He stared into the night, feeling tears starting to leak from his eyes. He took a long time returning to the Gryffindor tower.