Ice Skating

Ice Skating

Cold air hit Harry Potter like an icy wave as he stepped outside on Christmas morning. Snow crunched pleasantly under his boots as he walked down the steps and out onto Hogwarts' grounds. It was the kind of frosty morning where you could see your breath puffing out in front of your face, even in the light of day.

Harry slowly began to make his way across the grounds, passing by the evidence of yesterday's snowball fight. Broken down snow walls and a confusing mix of footprints was all that was left to remind him of the Gryffindor's absolute victory over Slytherin. Harry smiled slightly thinking of it now. The picture of Draco Malfoy with clumps of snow tangled in his blonde hair, yelling at the top of his lungs when Hermione dumped snow down the back of his shirt, was a memory that Harry particularly cherished.

Still smiling, he glanced around him as though expecting to find Hermione and Ron out there with him to share the image, but they weren't there. Of course. They were probably still inside the Gryffindor common room where Harry had left them. At times it was easy to forget that Ron and Hermione were a couple now; and then there were other times when they made it so disgustingly obvious that Harry was sure he would never be able to think of kissing in the same way again. Not that his current views on kissing were all that spectacular, he reminded himself, thinking of sweaty hands and a tearstained face. Probably not missing out on that much anyway, he decided.

So there he was, out in the snow on Christmas morning. At least he had gotten a chance to open his presents before Hermione had come down to the common room. Once she had, Harry just hadn't felt right staying.

"I am not jealous," he said firmly to the broken down snow wall at his feet. He thought the snow wall seemed to agree with him and then shook his head sadly that things had gotten so bad he was looking to inanimate objects for reassurance. Sighing, he kicked the rest of the wall down. "I'm not quite that lonely. Yet."

Harry made his way across the grounds to the edge of the lake. Frowning, he noticed that someone had managed to clear all the snow off the lakes surface, leaving the ice clear and smooth. That was odd. He was sure that just yesterday it had been completely covered. The sound of distant music came to his ears and he looked to the far end of the lake. Someone was out there. That was where the music was coming from, though Harry couldn't see how the person had gotten it to play. He pushed his glasses further up on his nose and squinted, trying to see the figure better. Whoever it was, they were dressed all in black and seemed to be... ice skating? Ice skating beautifully he realized, as the figure sped up, held out its arms for balance and then leapt up into the air, twirling twice around before landing again.

Harry stood there watching the person intently, trying to figure out who it could be. He thought it might be a boy, but he couldn't be sure. There was something about the way the skater moved that seemed awfully familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was almost mesmerizing, watching the figure move gracefully across the ice. He (if he really was a boy, Harry reminded himself) moved in a circle, crossing one foot over the other until enough speed was gained and then jumped, landing just as smoothly as the first time. From there the skater stepped into a spin, moving faster and faster until all Harry could see was a black blur, until the figure slowed down and moved on to the next trick.

After a while Harry realized that the performance was choreographed. The jumps timed carefully to correspond with the swells in the music that Harry could faintly hear. Eventually the skater slowed and ended the performance, sliding to his knees on the ice and resting there a moment before rising. Before Harry could try and hide the figure had turned towards him and begun skating his way. The skater didn't seem at all shocked to find him there. Harry supposed he must have caught a glimpse of him standing there at some point. As the person drew closer he reached up and pulled off the black hat he had been wearing. Shining white blonde hair fell about the skater's face.

"Malfoy?" Harry choked out, feeling as though he had just swallowed something unpleasant. Draco Malfoy dug the blades of his skates into the ice a few feet away and stood there, sneering at Harry.

"Potter," he said in a cool voice.

"You... you ice skate?" asked Harry, still in shock.

"No, Potter. That was someone else you were watching for the past ten minutes out there. We cleverly switched places when you weren't looking," said Draco. Harry looked confused. "Yes, of course I ice skate you git! I'm bloody brilliant at it too," he added with a smirk.

Harry realized with a sinking feeling that this was true. Malfoy was a brilliant skater. This was not the natural order of things at all, he thought with dismay. Malfoy was not supposed to be good at anything besides failing spectacularly. That was just the way things were. Something had to be done.

"Well, it doesn't look that hard to do," said Harry, attempting the dismissive look he usually wore around the other boy.

Draco's eyes bugged out slightly and then his mouth settled into a thin line. "Right, I forgot, you're the Boy Who Lived. You can do anything. If you think it looks so easy than why don't you come out here and give it a try?"

Panic descended for a moment but then Harry remembered something. "Can't," he said smugly. "I haven't got any skates."

Draco drew his wand out of his shirtsleeve, causing Harry to jump back. "Accio Skates." he said simply, and held out his hands. A few moments later a pair of black skates were dropped into his waiting arms. "Here," said Draco, smirking at Harry. "You can use my extra pair. I only hope they aren't too big for you." he said, raising one silvery eyebrow.

Harry reached out and grabbed the skates. He could feel a slight blush rising to his cheeks but he tried to ignore it. "I'm sure they'll fit just fine," he spat out. Before he knew it he had put the skates on and was attempting to stand up without falling. Looking over at Draco's triumphant face he wondered if perhaps he had just been tricked.

"Need some help, Potter?" Draco inquired sweetly.

"No," said Harry with a scowl, finally standing up straight and then nearly falling back down again. He steadied himself and then looked the other boy straight in the eye. "See, easy," he said, in what he hoped was a convincing voice.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Potter, all you've done is stand up. Now move around. Go do a triple axel if you think it's so easy."

"A what?" asked Harry.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Never mind. I am content to watch you fall on your arse simply trying to walk."

Harry's eyes flashed. Glaring at Malfoy the whole time, Harry took a few stumbling steps forward. Somehow he managed not to fall, but stopped as soon as he was standing beside the other boy. Best not to push his luck he decided. Raising his chin he looked defiantly at Malfoy.

"That was pathetic," said Draco in a flat voice. "You have just killed the beauty of ice skating for me."

"Hey!" said Harry, who found that statement a bit harsh. "I didn't fall down, did I?"

Draco sighed. "No, you just attempted to walk across the ice in the same manner you do on land. Your coordination leaves something to be desired on solid ground, Potter, so how do you expect to move about the same way on ice?"

Somewhere in the back of Harry's mind a bell went off. Danger! It warned. This conversation is entirely too free of insults. Danger! You are having a conversation with Malfoy! Harry ignored the little bell.

"Well, how am I supposed to do it then?" Harry asked irritably.

"You're supposed to glide, Potter," said Draco, as though that explained everything.

"Er?"

"Glide!" said Draco, pushing off on one foot to demonstrate and then turning around to look expectantly at Harry.

Harry looked down at his feet and attempted to move them the same way Draco had which resulted in him landing on his tailbone. He glowered up at Draco who was laughing so hard it looked as though he was having trouble breathing.

"Glide, sure, just glide," Harry muttered under his breath, as he tried to stand up again only to have his feet go flying out from under him.

"This is, this is just..." Draco's voice trailed off into helpless laughter again. "Oh, if only that Creevey kid with the camera was here now."

"Fine," Harry ground out. "Maybe it isn't that easy." At last he managed to get his feet under him and stood up. "It would be easier at an ice skating rink. I don't have anything to hold on to here," he pointed out crossly.

"Here," said Draco, holding both hands out to Harry. Harry looked at him in astonishment and even Draco looked surprised.

"You want me to hold your hands?"

"Well there's nothing else for you to hold on to," said Draco with a shrug.

"Why are you doing this Malfoy?" asked Harry suspiciously.

"I have no idea," said Draco. "Call it Christmas spirit if you like." Harry just stood there, staring at his outstretched hands. "My generosity is not going to last forever, Potter, do you want to learn or not?" asked Draco impatiently.

Harry slowly placed his gloved hands in Draco's. "I want to learn," he said.

"All right, then. You skate forward and I'll skate back," Draco told him, and then very slowly began to move backwards.

Harry spent the first ten minutes waiting for Draco to wrench his hands away and send Harry flying down onto the ice, but the moment never came. Instead Draco was actually being patient with him. He kept muttering advice to Harry, and steadying him when he tripped up, and he never once loosened his hold on Harry's hands. It was unsettling. Surely this was all part of some evil Slytherin plan? Right? They made their way slowly around the lake. Harry felt he was finally getting the hang of this skating thing when he noticed a slight tremor in Draco's hands. Looking up he noticed the other boy's teeth were chattering.

"Why aren't you wearing a cloak?" Harry asked.

"It only gets in my way when I'm doing my routine. Besides, I can stay warm when I move fast."

"Why don't you go warm up again then?" said Harry. He stopped moving but didn't let go of Draco's hands. I still might fall, he told himself. For a moment he caught himself wishing neither of them were wearing gloves. Swallowing hard, Harry stepped back and withdrew his hands. "You know, go do twirly things for a bit until your teeth stop chattering."

Draco gave him an odd look but nodded. "Okay. I'll only be a few minutes," he said and then moved out into the middle of the lake and began moving in a circle, going backwards at a fast pace as he crossed one foot over the other. Harry picked absently at his gloves, and then pulled them off and stuck them in his pocket. His hands really weren't that cold. Yes, that's right. If anyone asked, his hands were hot. He drew a quick breath in as Draco launched himself off the ice and then came down smoothly. Draco really wasn't wearing proper clothes for this sort of thing, Harry decided with a small frown. He went into a spin, lifting his hands above his head and his black shirt rode up, allowing pale skin to flash for a moment before his arms came down. Not proper skating attire at all, thought Harry with a small gulp. And the blasted shirt kept doing it. Every time Draco went into a spin or did a jump his shirt would ride up just the slightest bit, before falling down again to cover his stomach. It was very distracting.

Bloody hell, I am NOT getting distracted by the sight of Malfoy's stomach. Am I? Harry leaned forward and banged his forehead against his knees.

"All right there, Potter?" came the amused voice. Harry looked up to find Draco standing over him.

"Er," said Harry.

"Your distinct lack of eloquence never ceases to amaze me, Potter. Now, if you're done banging your head against your knees, I'm ready to continue." He looked down at Harry expectantly but Harry didn't get up.

"How did you learn to skate like that, Malfoy?" he asked instead.

"My mother used to skate," said Draco with a shrug. "When I was old enough my parents hired me a personal coach. I have my own rink at home," he added, in an overly blasé voice that told Harry he was meant to be impressed by this fact.

"But isn't it, well, isn't it sort of a Muggle thing?" Harry asked.

Draco looked scornful. "Wizards have been skating for much longer than Muggles. You should go see one of our ice skating shows sometime. They're completely different. There are lots of spells used, no one ever falls down."

"You weren't using a spell just now," Harry pointed out.

"It's hard to perform them on yourself. And besides, I like skating better without them. More of a challenge." Harry thought he saw a bit of a blush appear on Draco's cheeks as he spoke, as though he were embarrassed to admit that he did anything the Muggle way.

"So, er, have you ever competed?"

Draco wrinkled his nose disdainfully. "Of course not. Sequins, Potter. Can you picture me wearing sequins?"

"I don't think I should answer that question," said Harry delicately.

Draco shot him a murderous glare. "Where is your little entourage this morning?" he fired back with a sneer.

"Don't," said Harry quietly. "Can we please just not this morning?"

Draco looked down at him in consideration, the sneer fading from his face. Everything was very still as they looked at each other, neither of them speaking. At last Draco nodded. "Alright," he said, and held out his hand. Harry was about to reach for it when Draco drew back suddenly. Harry watched in confusion as Draco quickly took off his gloves and dropped them on the ice.

"Why'd you do that?" Harry asked.

"My hands were hot," said Draco with a grin.

Harry blinked. Is Draco Malfoy really grinning at me? he wondered. And then cool hands were grasping his own and Draco was pulling him to his feet. They were very nearly the same height. Draco may have been just the slightest bit taller, but it was barely noticeable. Harry realized that they were just standing there unmoving, holding hands.

"Actually, your hands are kind of cold," Harry pointed out.

Draco shrugged. "Details, Potter."

*~*~*

If someone had told Harry that at ten o'clock on Christmas morning he would be stumbling around the lake in pursuit of Draco Malfoy with no intentions of harming him, Harry would have laughed in their face. If someone had told him that when he finally went down on the ice and managed to get the wind knocked out of him, Draco Malfoy had actually raced over to see if he was all right and had then actually refrained from making fun of him (or at least tried very hard not to), he would have suspected dark forces were at work. But there he was, lying with his back pressed against the cold ice staring up at the grey sky, while Draco Malfoy twisted his mouth into different funny expressions as he tried not to make any cutting remarks. It looked like it hurt.

"Go ahead," said Harry with a sigh.

"Go ahead and what?"

"Go ahead and say it. I know you want to. You're thinking about it right now. Tell me how utterly lacking in grace I am, or mention the sound it made when I hit the ice."

"Actually I was thinking about the look of surprise that came over your face while you were airborne," said Draco dreamily, and then smirked when Harry rolled his eyes. "Aren't you getting back up?" asked Draco.

Harry shook his head, feeling entirely too sore to move just yet.

"All right then," said Draco, and dropped onto the ice beside Harry. They both looked up at the clouded sky in silence and then Draco turned his head to look at Harry. "So, Potter, why are you out here instead of inside with your friends?" He looked curious instead of mocking this time so Harry answered.

"Well, I was going to spend the day with Ron and Hermione but, er, I decided that maybe they would like some alone time." Draco looked blank. "You know, together." Harry gave Draco a significant look.

"What is with that face, Potter? Are you about to be ill?"

"For god's sake, Malfoy! I'm outside because I didn't want to spend the whole morning watching my two best friends snogging!" Harry said in exasperation.

Draco sat up very quickly and stared down at Harry, eyes wide with horror. "Uck! The Weasel and the Mudblood are a couple?"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Don't call them that," he said in a harsh voice.

Draco sneered. "Right, sorry. They're your friends," he drawled, and Harry felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was the Malfoy he was used to. He took a deep breath and pushed away the anger he was feeling and tried to change the subject.

"How about you Malfoy? Why are you out here?" The tension lessened slightly but it was still there, lurking.

"Just felt like getting some practice in when no one else was around. So much for that," said Draco, raising one eyebrow in Harry's direction.

"Yeah, but why are you still at Hogwarts at all? Don't you usually go home for Christmas?" Harry asked curiously and then immediately wished he could take the words back.

Draco's whole body stiffened and his face became cold. "Well I could have, but it would have been a rather empty house. You see, my father's in Azkaban and my mother has gone to visit him. Now don't feel badly for asking, you couldn't have known... oh but wait," Draco's eyes flashed as he stood up swiftly. "It's your fault isn't it!" He turned and sped away over the ice.

"Malfoy, wait!" Harry shouted, struggling to his feet and lurching after him. He was barely aware of how fast he was moving, he wasn't even thinking about the fact that he was on ice until he reached out and caught Draco's shoulder and then almost crashed into him because he didn't know how to stop.

Cursing, Draco pushed him away. "Get away from me! Go back to your filthy little Mudblood friends and dream about your dead parents instead of trying to take away someone else's!"

Harry launched himself at Draco without even thinking. They crashed to the ice and Harry heard Draco gasp as Harry landed on top of him heavily, crushing the air from his lungs. It didn't stop him for long. With a growl he sent his fist crashing into the side of Harry's head and then rolled them over so Harry had his back to the ice. Shaking his head to clear it of pain, Harry lashed out blindly, twisting and turning until Draco was thrown off him and landed heavily on the ice where he lay still. Harry was sure that he would be up again in an instant, but Draco didn't move.

"Malfoy?" Harry called out, but there was no answer. He sat up and looked over at Draco but he couldn't see his face. "Hey, Malfoy, you okay?" Still nothing. Feeling panicky Harry began crawling over to the other boy. "Draco! Draco, are you alright?" he was reaching for his shoulder just as Draco lifted his head.

"So I'm Draco now?" he asked with a smirk. Harry sank back on his heels with a sigh of relief, and then punched Draco hard in the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"I thought I had knocked you unconscious or killed you or something!"

"I'm afraid Malfoys aren't killed quite that easily." said Draco.

They both fell silent, carefully avoiding looking at each other, and then Harry sighed.

"I'm sorry. About you not being home for Christmas."

Draco looked up at him sharply. It was not something that could be fixed with a simple ‘I'm sorry', Harry knew that. Especially when he could never be sorry for the things Draco might want him to be. But out there, on the ice on Christmas morning, he hoped that it would be enough. That the angry words could be left unsaid just this once. Draco's shoulders relaxed slightly and he nodded. "Thank you," he said very softly. "I'm sorry that you couldn't be either."

"Don't be. Spending Christmas with the Dursleys is not my idea of a holiday," said Harry bitterly.

Draco shook his head. "They're not who I meant."

"Oh." A lump formed in Harry's throat and he looked away from Draco, blinking furiously. Draco stood up carefully and brushed himself off. "Where are you going?" Harry asked, looking up at him in surprise.

"I was going to go back inside. You know, before we try and kill each other again," said Draco.

"No wait, don't!" Harry said without thinking. He could feel himself blushing as Draco looked down at him questioningly, with a hint of his old sneer.

"Why not, Potter?"

A hundred answers flew into Harry's mind. I have no idea. Because I'm not sure if I can get back up again by myself. Because if you go I'm all alone. Because I want to fix this somehow. Because I was actually having fun with you. Because I don't want you to go.

"Because you haven't finished teaching me how to skate," he said. Draco looked down at him, frowning slightly. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to though," said Harry quietly.

Draco's face cleared. "I don't do anything I don't want to, Potter." he said, and held out his hands.

Draco had very nice hands, Harry noticed. They seemed to fit perfectly with Harry's own. Draco helped him stand and they stood motionless. Draco's eyes seemed to match the grey winter light perfectly, Harry thought.

Am I really staring into Draco Malfoy's eyes? Harry wondered nervously.

"What are we doing, Potter?" asked Draco softly, as though he could hear what Harry was thinking.

Harry's mouth was very dry as he answered. "I'm not sure." He frowned as his eyes fixed on a small cut on Draco's cheek where he had been scratched by a sharp bit of ice. "You're hurt," he said, and reaching out he brushed his thumb gently over the cut. Draco drew a sharp breath in and Harry could feel the shiver that raced through him. Something moved in the corner of his eye and Harry turned his head slightly, eyes widening in surprise.

"Harry, it's snowing," said Draco, a small smile appearing on his face as white flakes filled the air around them. It was beautiful, thought Harry, and exciting. But somehow not nearly as exciting as hearing Draco speak his name.

"Draco," Harry said softly, and grey eyes turned to meet his own again and suddenly Harry knew that he was about to do something absolutely terrifying. He was about to kiss Draco Malfoy. Draco seemed to have realized the same thing because his eyes suddenly widened, although he didn't step away.

The snow was falling, covering evidence of yesterday's rivalries and the tracks their skates had made in the ice. The quiet only snow can bring hung in the air as Harry leaned forward, and pressed his lips gently against Draco's.

For a moment he wasn't quite sure what to do next, his experience with kissing had been somewhat limited and besides, kissing a boy might be different, somehow. And then Draco began kissing him back and he discovered that it was very different, though maybe it was just because this was Draco. Harry let his eyes flutter shut.

Draco was the first to pull back, his cheeks flushed and breathing hard.

"Er, is something wrong?" asked Harry, feeling self-conscious and worried that Draco was about to come to his senses and leave.

"No," said Draco, smiling. "Just needed air."

"Oh," said Harry, feeling relieved. And then Draco leaned close and kissed him again. It was a different sort of kiss than before, and Harry wondered just how many kinds of kisses there could be. It was warm and short and when it was over their faces were still very close together.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Draco whispered. Harry smiled and pulled Draco closer so that his cloak wrapped around both of them.

"Happy Christmas, Draco," he said.

And it was.