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“What are you doing?” Draco scoffs, but when Harry ignores him, he steps up to him. “Aren’t you a little old to be building a snowman?”
“Just leave me alone,” Harry mutters under his breath, and he takes another handful of snow, his hands almost having gone numb from the cold by now. He adds it to the growing mount of snow, which he is hoping will be the base of the snowman. If Draco doesn’t destroy it first, that is.
Draco takes another step closer, and for a moment Harry can’t help but stare at him, trying to figure out his next move. But when Draco rolls his eyes, before turning to leave, he grows curious.
“What?”
“That’s not how you build a snowman. I bet you it will fall over before you’ve even gotten a chance to add the head.”
“What? Are you an expert on how to build a snowman now?” Harry asks, but Draco just ignores him before walking off. “Wait!”
“What?” Draco spits out, looking back over his shoulder.
“What are you doing out here?” Harry asks, Draco’s face growing softer. “Shouldn’t be in there, celebrating Christmas with your friends?”
“I don’t do Christmas.”
“You don’t do Christmas?” Harry laughs, before breathing into his hands, trying his best to get the feeling back into them. “Why not?”
“What is the point? Everyone acts like all is right in the world, and we’re all supposed to be friends? By this time next week everyone is talking shit behind each other’s back again, and all this… singing, and laughing together, it’s all… it’s all fake.”
Harry can’t help but laugh, but when Draco glares at him, he quickly stops.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Harry shrugs, trying his best not to laugh at Draco’s angry glare. “So… want to help me build this snowman?”
“No!” Draco spits out, a look of horror on his face. “Don’t be ridiculous, Potter.”
“Why not?” Harry asks. “You’re the expert.”
“I’m not… shouldn’t you be doing this with your friends, anyway? Where are those…”
“I’m asking you.”
Draco opens his mouth to, most likely, cuss him out, but then he sighs, and he looks over his shoulder to make sure no one is watching.
“Fine.”
Harry flashes a smile, and in silence they build up the snow until something resembling a snowman is standing in front of them.
“He needs a face,” Harry says, looking around him to find anything they can use. “And arms…”
Without saying a word, Draco takes out his wand. He casts a spell Harry doesn’t recognise, and within moments, the snowman begins to change shape. Black coal eyes, a button mouth, and a large carrot nose grow out of its face, while two stick arms grow out of its body.
Harry takes off his scarf, and he wraps it around its neck, while Draco gives it his hat, making the snowman look, somewhat alive.
“What do you think?” Harry asks. “It didn’t fall over.”
When he looks at Draco, he sees the corner of his mouth curl up into a smile, his nose by now having turned red from the cold.
“Watch this.” Draco grins, before casting another spell. This time snow begins to fall all around the snowman, and after just a few moments, it begins to move.
“What the…”
“My parents used to do this when I was younger,” Draco explains, as the smile on the snowman’s face grows bigger.
“Do you think…?” Harry begins, but when the snowman begins to dance, in its own, odd little way, he can’t help but laugh. “Can he talk?”
“I hope not,” Draco laughs, but when the snowman tries to grab his hand, using one of its stick-arms, he cries out, blushing at his own reaction. “Stupid, bloody…!”
He quickly takes out his wand, but Harry stops him.
“Leave him.”
“Fine, but he’s your responsibility!” Draco spits out, and it almost feels like whatever kind of moment they had shared, it’s over now. He storms off, leaving Harry standing there, disappointed things had ended like that. Because as much as he hates to admit it, because this is Draco Malfoy we’re talking about, he had actually been enjoying himself. For a moment he had actually forgotten about the fact that they were supposed to hate each other.
He tells himself to forget about the whole thing, and to get on with his day, but when he looks back at the snowman, he realises that he is no longer there. So he looks around, only to find that he is quickly hopping away into the direction of the castle.
He hops past Draco, who stops in his tracks, a look of pure shock on his face.
“What the…”
“We have to stop him,” Harry says, as he catches up with Draco, and he grabs him by the arm. But when Draco pulls away from him, he flinches, worried that this is going to end with a black eye. But then Draco nods, and they quickly run after the snowman, who is just about to enter the castle.
They follow him inside, but just as they are about to turn the corner, they hear Professor McGonagall’s voice.
“Please tell me this is not what I think it is.”
“Well…,” Professor Sprout says, before continuing, and even from where they are standing, the boys can hear the laughter in her voice. “It looks like someone charmed a snowman.”
“Yes, I can see that. Thank you.”
They hear Professor McGonagall cast a spell, and Harry breathes a sigh of relief, because surely this is the end of it. But when he sees Draco’s face growing redder, he can’t help but laugh.
“What?” he whispers, but when he hears both McGonagall and Sprout cry out, he quickly looks around the corner to see what has happened.
Both women are standing there, covered from head to toe in snow. McGonagall looks like she’s about to breathe fire, but when Sprout begins to laugh, her face softens.
“I bet you it was that Fred and George Weasley,” Sprout laughs, and McGonagall sighs, a small smile forming on her lips.
“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Did you know that was going to happen?” Harry whispers, but by the look on Draco’s face he can already tell the answer. He can’t help but laugh, as they watch the two women walk away, still trying to brush down the snow from their clothes.
“That made my day,” Harry laughs, and when he looks back at Draco, he is surprised to find him with a smile on his face. “Thank you.”
“Well… I suppose Christmas isn’t so bad. Not all of it, anyway.”
“No?”
“Don’t tell anyone I said that, though,” Draco says, and he flashes another smile. “Merry Christmas, Potter.”