December 9th
Rose shoved her hands deep into her cloak pockets as she marched across the snow back towards the castle from Hagrid's hut. She had spent all afternoon with him, something her parents would be happy to hear, and she was eager to retreat back to the warmth of the Gryffindor common room. Her fingers brushed against the paper Hagrid had used to wrap up the remains of his fruitcake he baked for her visit and the reminder of it made her stomach feel like a rock. Rose always felt a little guilty when she found herself unable to choke down Hargrid's cooking, so she had a habit of taking some back to the castle "for later". For later, in this case, meaning she would immediately dispose of it upon entering the castle.
The cold, wet snow found its way into her boots as she trudged along, soaking her socks and making her feet feel like they were made of ice. The snow was deep and she was breathing heavily from the exertion it took to drag her sore, tired legs through the snow. It felt like the castle was moving farther away from her with each step.
She was so focused, it took her a moment to realize that someone had hooked their arm with hers and it startled her more than it should have. Who else would have linked arms with her while she was fatigued and struggling than none other than Scorpius Malfoy. He already had his trademark smirking appearing on his face when Rose finally looked up at him.
"You look like you need some company," he said, as though he thought Rose would find this to be a reasonable excuse to touch her.
"Whatever," Rose responded, breathlessly. Her lack of desire to fight with the boy was surprising her but she was too tired to care and decided maybe this one time wouldn't hurt.
Her response left Scorpius with a triumphant look on his face, as though he was part of the winning Quidditch team at the World Cup. He tightened his arm around hers even more when he saw she wasn't going to fight with him. Rose's face was flushed from the cold and her eyes were trained on the snowy ground in front of her, avoiding the boy's haughty eyes.
"What is that?" Scorpius asked, gesturing towards the bulge in Rose's pocket.
"Fruitcake," she answered, her eyes not looking up from the ground. "Do you want it?"
"No," Scorpius said, with a slightly disgusted look on his face.
"Not a fruitcake fan?" Scorpius shook his head and Rose glanced up at him. "I don't mind fruitcake. It's the only thing during Christmas I'm not tempted to eat."
This statement made Scorpius laugh and it was odd for Rose to see a smile on the boy's face that wasn't a smirk. Suddenly she felt very self-conscience of the fact that she had her arm linked and having civil, if not meaningless, conversation with the boy she swore she could not stand. It was an odd feeling for her, but not a bad one.