Winter Rose

Snow had started to fall as Lizzie stared at the delicate white petals of the winter rose in front of her. She was having a bit of trouble with the shading…then again, she always did.

She sighed, watching her breath float away in the cool air. She twirled the charcoal in her hand, trying to figure out how on earth she was going to draw the shadows. She couldn't keep using the rubber to erase her mistakes; she'd wear a hole in the paper soon enough.

She knelt down, frowning at the flower poking through the snow. It was funny how this wasn't even a rose. It was a hellebore plant, many of which were poisonous; they usually had five petals and a yellow center, and didn't look a thing like its namesake.

Then again, maybe that was where luck came in. Real roses had many more petals, all of them overlapping, which would mean extra shading and erasing. At least hellebore was a bit simpler.

The sound of wings came from overhead. Looking up, she saw it was Elinor, landing on the bench. The little owl eagerly stuck her leg out, revealing a tiny package no bigger than Lizzie's palm. As soon as it was undone from her leg, Elinor flew off toward the owlry, her job done.

There wasn't a note or anything to indicate who could have sent it, but Lizzie had an idea as she unwrapped the thin plastic. Inside was a chunk of caramel, something that usually showed up around this time of year.

"Thought you could use a bit of sustenance."

Lizzie felt herself smile before turning to face Neville, who was walking up the hill, dark hair swept off his face. It didn't escape her notice that this allowed a nice view of his eyes, and she had to stop herself from staring.

"Thank you." She popped the caramel into her mouth, feeling the gooey chunk sticking to the roof of her mouth. "It's good," she said, or tried to say; it was a bit hard to talk around the caramel, and she realized she must look foolish and a bit gross trying to speak with food in her mouth.

"Gran sent them a few days ago," Neville said. "She made a few extras, because I told her how much you love them." He smiled, and she saw the dimples in both of his cheeks. She caught herself staring - hadn't she tried not to moments before? - and tore her gaze away, taking a seat on the bench.

"I'll definitely need it." She pursed her lips, glaring at the little flower that was causing her frustration. "I can't decide how I'm going to shade this thing."

He sat next to her, quietly studying the plant. "I've always found it fascinating how something so small and delicate can survive during the coldest months of the year," he said. "They're usually more prominently found in the north, by the mountains. Temperatures tend to drop below freezing sometimes."

Lizzie nodded, eyes fixed ahead of her. "It's strange," she agreed.

Neville let out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry. I must sound incredibly boring right now, spouting off facts about plants. Seems to be the only thing I can do without stuttering."

"Oh, no, you're fine!" Lizzie assured, turning her gaze from the winter rose. "I was just thinking about shading. I…I don't mind your talking at all."

Neville's cheeks, which were already red from the cold, went slightly darker. "I really shouldn't bother you when you're lost in thought like that, then."

"I honestly don't mind…"

"But if you're having trouble…"

"I actually don't like drawing in silence…"

"Well, if you really want me to…"

They lapsed into silence, and she found herself looking into his eyes; how on earth she'd ended up doing that, she had no idea. But it wasn't unpleasant, not at all. It was making her heart flutter, and maybe it was just her, but it looked like he was leaning closer…

A snowflake landed in her eye just then.

"Ow!" Blinking rapidly, she tried to rid herself of the burning in her left eye.

"You alright?" Neville looked at her with a mix of concern and amusement.

"I'll be fine. I think I was a bit more surprised than anything."

"Wasn't expecting assault by snowflakes, were you?"

She laughed. "They look so innocent, of course not!"

"Well, then. Better be on the lookout for another one. You never know." As he said this, a snowflake landed right on his eyelashes. He tried to blink it away, but there it sat, slowly melting and leaving a tiny droplet behind. Lizzie giggled as he finally managed to wipe it away.

"Looks like I'm not the only one they're after," she quipped, biting back a laugh.

He shook his head, glancing over at her sketchbook. "I was meaning to ask you: is this for Professor Sprout?"

"Yes and no." Lizzie felt comfortable enough to tell him the whole truth. "I'm doing some extra credit from when I was sick a few weeks ago, but I really wanted to draw this before it got too cold. I'm like you; I love how it can grow despite how miserable it gets in the winter."

She tentatively tried shading again, lightly pressing the charcoal into the corner of one of the petals. She gently smudged it with the side of her thumb, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"It's probably one of my favorite flowers," she continued, moving to work on the next petal. "Reminds me a lot of the DA last year, actually. Something wonderful flourishing in seemingly impossible circumstances."

Reminds me a lot of you, Neville, she added in her head.

"That's…I like that," he said; she could hear the smile in his voice. She felt him move closer, and she tried not to tense up. She never really enjoyed anyone sitting right over her shoulder as she worked.

"So…how's Trevor?" she blurted before she could think. Mentally cringing, she grabbed her rubber and erased the jagged line she'd made on accident.

"He's…Trevor," Neville replied. "I try to keep an eye on him during the winter, because he could easily freeze if it gets too cold. As far as I know, he's still in my room, in his tank." He paused. "And hopefully he'll still be there when I get back."

She smiled, looking up at the winter rose before going back to her sketching. "If he gets loose again, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for him."

This is why she loved spending time with Neville. While things could get a bit awkward, they could always find something to discuss. For instance, she'd loved to ask him why his hands were suddenly buried in her hair when they hadn't been a moment before.

Her head shot up, and he froze, his fingers tangled in her strawberry-blond locks. He jerked away, mumbling, "S-sorry…snowflakes…and…"

She grinned, returning the favor and brushing the newly-fallen snow out of his dark hair. "Now you're just distracting me, Mr. Longbottom." She felt her scalp tingling from where his fingers had been, and desperately hoped it was just her imagination.

"Sorry," he repeated, and they grew quiet again. She made a few more adjustments - and mistakes - to the petals, and had started on the stem when he spoke again.

"It's really good, Lizzie," he said quietly. "I wish I could draw like that."

She felt her mouth quirk upward. "Thank you. This from the boy who gets top marks in Herbology."

"I don't see your point."

"Well, we have to sketch things sometimes, and you manage just fine, if I recall correctly."

"Yes. I manage. Barely. I'm not very good at detail like you are."

"Just like I'm not very good at the written portion of reports," she remarked.

"You do fine on those -"

"Because you help me."

"No…" He trailed off. "Not all the time."

"See?" She finished the stem, looking over the sketch and letting out a sigh. "I think it's as good as it's gonna get," she said, signing the bottom.

"I like it."

She chanced a look at him for the first time in a while, and there was that smile again, making her heart melt. "Thank you."

"Would you…teach me how to draw?" he asked suddenly.

Lizzie frowned. "I…are you sure?" She wasn't particularly good at teaching anything. She felt like she didn't explain things very clearly.

Neville nodded. "I want to be able to make shadows," he said. "I can never do that on my own."

"Um…alright." She flipped to a blank page, moving the charcoal back and forth. "It all depends on how much light you want to hit the object you're drawing. And you want the shadows to grow gradually." She smeared a bit of the mass, softening the lines. "And you can't be afraid to get your fingers dirty."

She handed him the book, and he sat still, looking at it as if he'd never seen something like it before.

"Try it."

He bit his lip; she could tell he was mentally warring with himself, wanting to try, but afraid to fail. He often had that look when they were younger, especially in Potions class.

"Would you like help, Neville?"

He glanced at her, slowly nodding his head. She'd been dreading that answer, but at the same time her heart gave a little skip. She could do this…

She held her book with one hand, taking his hand in the other, helping him form a fist. She brought his thumb out and guided it along the charcoal lines, smearing them. "A bit less pressure…there we go…"

Her hand on his was causing her spine to tingle uncontrollably. She was sure her face was redder than it had been, and she prayed that he wouldn't notice that she was shaking slightly. "Alright. Now when you're making a shadow, it's best to make it gradually darker. It makes the dimensions seem more realistic."

She slowly lifted his hand to a line near the bottom. "Go from light to dark…like that…"

They stopped when his hand reached the end. To her surprise, he shifted their hands so that he was holding hers. He lifted his eyes to hers, his expression unreadable; she saw that his cheeks were dark red.

"Is…is this okay?"

Her voice was suddenly gone, and she found her head moving up and down. Merlin, this was more than okay. This was bloody fantastic.

And terrifying.

How could something so simple make her feel lightheaded and scared at the same time? He was holding her hand, that was all. No…he was…holding her hand and…brushing more snowflakes out of her hair…but he was going slower than before…much…slower…

"You…had more snow in your hair," he said quickly, looking away.

She blinked, turning to the winter rose, watching snowflakes settle around it. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, until the two of them started to shiver at the sudden temperature drop. He walked her to her portrait hole, the conversation easy and light as it had been. He let go of her hand only when they arrived at their destination.

"Thank you for walking me back," Lizzie said. "I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to go for a walk."

Neville shrugged. "I don't mind. I enjoyed learning to shade." His cheeks were still tinged with pink.

"Just let me know the next time you need help with it, alright?"

"Of course. And I can…um, help you…with…writing. If you want. I mean, more often than I already do. So…"

Lizzie looked at the ground, building up her resolve. Before she could talk herself out of it, she stood on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you later, Neville."

Neville blinked rapidly, his cheeks positively crimson now. "Y-yeah. I…I'll…see you…L-lizzie."

She climbed through, listening to his footfalls as he walked away. She skipped up to her room, gently tearing out the winter rose sketch and setting it on her nightstand.

"So how was your date?" Susan asked, walking in just then.

"It was nice." She found she couldn't stop smiling.

"Just nice?" Susan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Just nice."

She considered throwing away the page of smudged lines, but decided not to after careful consideration. Her smile widened as she tucked the book under her pillow.