SNOW CASTLES ((open))

[NEVILLE ALEXANDER LONGBOTTOM]

There were reasons to love and hate snow all at the same time. It was almost a love hate deal, but Neville loved the white stuff more than he hated it. He could remember growing up and playing out in the snow with his grandmother, building snow hippogriffs, and forts for snowball fights. His fort always collapsed though, most of the time it would collapse inward on him. After a while Neville gave up the art of snow fort building and practiced solely on trying to make a full sized hippogriff from snow. Naturally he would get a good start on it only to stumble forward into it and ruin the whole thing. His grandmother used magic once to finish the snow hippogriff, but Neville called it cheating. He let it slide though.

The only time or reason Neville hated the winter season was when the snow was used as a projectile and aimed square at his face. It was one thing to have a snowball fight with friends, but for it to be done maliciously by a Slytherin or another student was something Neville hated. He always walked across the grounds during snowy season with his floppy knitted hat pulled tight around his face and his paranoia at its all time high. He was always on guard, but somehow one found a way to hit him without warning. They were Neville seeking snowballs.

As it stood currently, Neville received two snowballs to the hip and back and one on the back of his head almost causing him to fall on his face. Luckily he caught his footing and saved himself from further embarrassment. He kept his eyes down to keep the falling snow out of them, but his eyes surveyed the courtyard the best he could. Hogwarts looked like it was enclosed in a giant snow globe. It was beautiful but Neville couldn’t take in the serenity of it all. There were Slytherins about. He was entering dangerous territory. Neville saw a snowball in front of him. He looked off to the left and saw there were two groups of students using a mixture of magic and snow to wage war on each other. Neville took a deep breath and charged through the middle of the battlefield. He felt the smack of cold wet snow on his pants, his arms and the side of his face.

Why did he think going directly through that would be a good idea? Neville brushed the snow from his clothing once he was clear. His checks stung with the cold of the snow. No doubt his cheek was brilliant red from impact. He grumbled a little bit and continued on his way toward the lake. He wondered if it was frozen enough for ice-skating, not that he wanted to take that chance. He came out this way to just escape the barrage of snow ball fire. Neville wanted to be outside even though it was cold; he just didn’t want to be around the hordes of students. He sighed and plopped down just off show from the lake. He took his gloved hands and scooped snow toward him from all directions making a nice pile.

Neville picked up a little and packed it together in his hands testing to see how good it was. Nothing crumbled off; it was perfect snow for creating a snow hippogriff. Instead of working on a creature this time, and almost too lazy to get up from the spot Neville tried his best to create a smaller version of Hogwarts with snow. It couldn’t be much different than a sandcastle. As it turned out Hogwarts was hard to recreate out of snow. The towers were crooked, and it only looked vaguely like a castle at all by the time Neville was half way done. He sighed and tilted his head, “Not exactly.” He muttered glancing back over his shoulder at the castle. “Not even close.” Neville groaned and in frustration, Neville took the back of his hand and gently swatted what was supposed to be Gryffindor tower.

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WORD COUNT::
679TAGS::Open
OUTFIT::winter gear, Gryffindor scarf
NOTES::Poor Neville, lol

[HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER]

[

Winter was definitely one of her favorite times of year, although she did love the spring with its fresh smells and how clean everything seemed to become. Yet winter held a special place in her heart and it was mainly because of her father. Hermione could read books all day – she could spend hours upon hours in the library without ever growing tired of it, but she also loved being outdoors when the weather allowed. One particular day still stood out in her mind, and it was very prominent as she now stood next to the Black Lake, arms wrapped around her for warmth. Her jacket, jumper, scarf, mittens and hat did well enough, but every now and then a slight breeze would sweep across the grounds causing her to shiver slightly. Her hair fluttered around her face as she stared across the frozen lake. Her father had taken her outside when she was around four or five to build her very first snowman, and it was near a little pond that was used for ice skating nearby. She remembered how excited she had been when she had worked with her father, rolling large balls of snow and patting them smooth. Him helping her add one on top of the other until they finally had the base of a snowman. Then racing around finding twigs and leaves and things to add to the snowman to actually create a face…wonderful memories that couldn’t help but bring a smile to her face….

Voices drew her from her thoughts and she glanced over at the snow battle that was raging not too far away. She just shook her head, looking back over the lake. True, she could have been studying right now. Merlin knows there were plenty of things to study for, such as upcoming exams, quizzes, not to mention the essays that needed to be completed. After being sick for a few days, staying up in the hospital wing due to some rather…unfortunate circumstances, Hermione had been working furiously to catch back up. Not to say that she had been behind even before those events had unfolded, but she didn’t like not having things done on time. Luckily she had turned both essays that were due during those days in a week earlier, but now she had a book essay, a short paper, and a quiz to study for. Hermione turned to make her way back to the castle and see if she could get some work done when she spotted Neville not too far away. She watched as he looked at something he had created in the snow, pushing some of it away. Hermione smiled and made her way over to him, slipping her hands into the pockets of her jacket. ”You know, no great artist or wizard ever started out making things perfectly the first time. They had ages of practice before things turned out the way they wanted them to.,” she offered, noticing that he had attempted to make some kind of castle – Hogwarts perhaps – in the snow. ”Like Adalbert Waffling for example. He was a famous magical theoretician and wrote all about magic. He didn’t know much when he first began but he learned and practiced and became very adept. He’s very well known for all of his magic teachings, and no witch or wizard today hasn’t benefited from what he’s learned and passed on.”

There was any number of things she could have said but she thought that was the one might help a little. Was it her fault she could practically quote all of their history books and other readings? Hermione crouched down beside the interestingly shaped castle and began to fix one of the walls, righting it so that it was a little straighter, though even she could make it stand completely upright. Hermione frowned slightly and then stood, looking at Neville. ”How about we try something easier, maybe a snowman? Surely the snow will cooperate with us on that at least,”

[/color] she offered. Neville was a good friend of hers, and he was one of those rare very genuine people. While she didn’t spend nearly as much time with him as she did with Ron and Harry, they were both part of the Slug Club, and had shared a laugh or two with that. She could get back to the library after this. Right now it was looking like she had a friend who needed a bit of cheering up. Hermione smiled as she motioned him over to a thicker pile of snow and began patting some of it into a large ball. ”Help me roll this?”[/color] she asked as she began to push it along the grounds, watching it gather snow.

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Credits to: REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0[/color][/size][/center]

[NEVILLE ALEXANDER LONGBOTTOM]

Neville could feel the snow starting to melt against the heat of body. It began to soak through his layers of clothing slowly dampening his skin. It was cold and for a minute Neville thought about heading back to the common room in order to sit next to the fire. It wasn’t like he was going to create a near perfect snow anything. Neville was just going to count his loses and head off but then he heard the familiar voice of Hermione Granger. He glanced up and smiled a little at his friend.

His cheeks were already flushed from the cold but they managed to turn a deeper shade of red. “Oh yeah.” He said looking back to the half demolished castle. Hermione continued on before he got a chance to get another word in. She was rattling on about Adalbert Waffling and to be honest Neville didn’t really catch anything after the name. He kept eye contact with her though, but it was kind of obvious that he had no idea what she was talking about. When she had finished Neville smiled pleasantly.

“I didn’t think I’d get it perfect, but I was hoping for something a little more than what I had.” He replied his brow furrowing slightly. He didn’t say anything about Hermione’s short lecture. By now, like Harry and Ron, he knew to just expect that kind of outburst of knowledge. Neville could actually do the same when the topic pertained to Herbology. He didn’t like or think any less of Hermione for it. He did feel bad though because a majority of the time he had no idea what she was going on about.

“My grandma and I used to make snow Hippogrifs. They weren’t too hard, but I think she was secretly using magic to help me with it.” He pondered for a second. “I suppose she was using magic the entire time now that I think about it.” Neville didn’t want to fully admit that his grandmother was probably helping him secretly with magic when it came to the Hippogrif made of snow. It did usually come out looking quite good. He sighed and brought his thoughts back to the present.

Hermione was way too kind. She was willing to help Neville with his lack of snow building abilities. He stood up brushing the snow off of his pants. He clapped his hands together to get the snow form his gloves. He walked over to her dragging his feet a little. She was already getting to work on it all. Neville drew in a breath, and with the cold temperature of the air, the breath got caught in his chest. For a second it felt like his lungs were on fire. He coughed and everything was back to normal. He rubbed the back of his neck and knelt down level with Hermione and assisted her with the snow.

“You know Hermione, you don’t have to stay out here with me and do this. If you have something else you were going to do it’s completely all right with me. I wouldn’t mind, honestly.” He avoided making eye contact with her at this point.

WORD COUNT::531
TAGS::Hermione, Open
OUTFIT::winter gear, Gryffindor scarf
NOTES::sorry it took me so long to reply

[HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER]

[

As she worked with the snow, it brought back memories of home, and almost made her a little homesick but she quickly moved past it. She always did love being in the snow, and loved how fresh and clean it made everything seem. It was as if the snow could wash away all the worries she might have had, just leaving her with something fun. True, she could’ve been in the library at that moment, but the fresh air would do her good and it also gave her a chance to speak with Neville, something she hadn’t really done as of late. He really was a good friend, always had been since the beginning, and she admired his courage. He really did stick it out in the hardest of situations, and he was loyal to his friends to a fault. She still remembered how well he did the previous year with his charms when they had formed Dumbledore’s Army, and the way he had found in the Ministry. She could ask for no one better to be in a fight with, save for perhaps her best friends.

”Snow is difficult to work with, you did well for what you had,” she said with a smile, not wanting to dissuade him from doing something like this again. True, it hadn’t been very good but this was her friend and she thought it’d be a little more tactful if she didn’t comment on it. Neville really was smart when he put his mind to it and she knew no one better than him to go to about Herbology, except herself perhaps, but even then he really did love that subject and he was the one who had found the Gillyweed for Harry that year during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, so Hermione could give him some credit with his knowledge. When he mentioned snow Hippogrifs, Hermione wasn’t sure what he meant but figured he probably meant something along the lines of a snowman, which was what she was about to show him. That was one of those big differences when it came to those who had been born into wizarding families and those who had not. Hermione had known only Muggle things before she had bought her first books and dove into the knowledge that awaited her of the Wizarding World.

”Well we won’t be using magic this time and I’m going to show you how to make a snowman,”

[/color] she said, still smiling up at him. ”It’s what Muggles always made when it snowed this much, sort of like your Hippogrifs.”[/color] Hermione knew better than to bring up the fact that her father had taught her how to make snowmen, knowing very well about Neville’s past and the fact that both his parents had been tortured to death by Death Eaters, and Bellatrix Lestrange at that. It was good that he had at least a few fond memories with his grandmother, and from what he had told her she was quite the terrible being. Not awful, but very intimidating. ”And of course I’m staying out here with you, this is fun, and it gives me a short break. Besides, you looked like you wouldn’t mind the company.”[/color] she said as they continued to roll the big ball, gathering snow. Finally when that was ready, Hermione motioned him over to some more snow and began to work on the second ball. ”When this has enough snow we’ll put it up on top of the first.”[/color] she instructed. ”What brought you out here anyhow? Just wanting to get away from the castle?”[/color]


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Credits to: REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0[/color][/size][/center]