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Virtual Hogwarts .net > The lawn > Snow, Snowballs, Snowmen... Can you see a pattern?

Posted by: Sariss Nov 18 2003, 02:22 AM

Sariss tentatively stepped outside. The Entrance Hall was still a mess; rubble and splinters were everywhere. The doors to the Great Hall were closed. From inside, one could hear the voices of people who were busy rebuilding it. Rumour had it that the ceiling had caved in somehow. Sariss didn't know if it was true, but it probably was just so when one considered all the other damage that had been done to the castle.

Her arm linked with Seb's she carefully walked down the steps that were slightly slippery from the snow, her new winter boots making scrunching noises each step she took. It was a calming sound. And so was the sight that presented itself to her.

Even though Hagrid's Hut was only a ruin, the untouched snow all around it added an eerie beauty to it. It had snowed a lot after the Death Eaters had left, as though the world wanted to cover up all the evil and destruction with an immaculate white veil that hid the faintest traces of Death Eater footsteps from view.

It was so peaceful and quiet. The view in addition to the feel of her gloved hand firmly in Seb's equally gloved quieted Sariss's troubled mind. Indeed, all the bad things involving the Death Eaters seemed to be far in the past already. How easily the mind could be deceived...

So now here they were. Stepping further down onto the lawn, Sariss noticed that the snow was almost a foot high and of very nice flour-like structure there.

She smiled. The scheduled snowball fight had only been delayed, not forgotten, in her opinion.

"What do you say? Perfect conditions?" she asked Seb, a somewhat mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she smiled up at him. It was a genuine smile. Despite everything, it was as real as the snow under her feet.

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 18 2003, 02:38 AM

Seb had walked arms linked with Sariss to the lawn outside. The snow covered the grounds like a blanket covered a bed. The snow didn’t seem as appealing as it had over Christmas and you would really have to be pretty stupid not to know why. The usual crunch of snow under feet didn’t excite him neither, but made him feel quite panicked, as if someone was following them. He looked at Sariss. She seemed to be feeling quite ok about it. Well, not ok as such, after all things that had happened, but at ease a touch.

They stopped, and she turned to Seb, "What do you say? Perfect conditions?" She smiled – not faked at all. He took his eyes of Sariss, and let them flick to the edge of the Forrest which lay behind Hagrid’s… rubble, then back to her. Yes. It was true. He was as scared as everyone else. No bravery really lay dormant inside him. The way he had screamed for Sariss in the Quidditch match proved that much.

Clearing his throat, he forced a smile upon his face, the kind he had got used to placing on his face from when he was younger. She seemed happy enough, so... “Yeah, it seems…” He couldn’t say perfect. It wasn’t really. “It seems right for a snowman! - And women that is.”

He looked down at the snow, “My trousers, getting wet already, and my robes. My ankles are going to get so cold!” The one thing Seb couldn’t stand was the bottom of his trousers getting wet.

Posted by: Sariss Nov 18 2003, 02:54 AM

A worried expression flickered over Seb's face as he scanned the grounds. There had been a lot of evil at work everywhere one could look. The snow could not make it undone. Sariss knew this but for the moment, she felt somewhat safe. The Death Eaters had no reason to come back now.

As far as Sariss's knowledge went, the Aurors were still around somewhere in the castle, just in case a Death Eater had stayed behind, undetected as of yet, disobeying his master or on a secret mission maybe. But Sariss would not allow her mind to go there now. She'd just freak out if she did so.

“Yeah, it seems…” Seb hesitated, probably thinking the very dark thoughts that Sariss was halfway successfully pushing back into an equally dark corner of her mind. Sariss fought the urge to hug him immediately. “It seems right for a snowman! - And women that is.”

With a frown, his eyes scanned the ground near his feet, “My trousers, getting wet already, and my robes. My ankles are going to get so cold!”

Just like Seb to worry about about something trivial as wet trousers now. If they were to go through with the snowmen (and women) and the snowball fight, they could both consider themselves fortunate if there was anything not cold and wet on them as soon as they returned to the Common Room--as most of the other areas were still locked off from the general public.

Sariss didn't fight the urge to hug Seb anymore. She did so, noticing that they hadn't shared many hugs ever since the Death Eaters had begun attacking the castle. Somehow it had probably seemed awkward to be happy amidst the death and destruction that was going on.

Sariss stood slightly on tip-toes and kissed the corner of Seb's mouth, her cold nose bumping into his cheek that was a bit flushed from the cold.

Then she smiled, pretending to just adjust his scarf a bit, when it just served the purpose of giving her somewhat of an alibi to be so close to him for a bit longer. The younger students always giggled behind their hands when they saw their usually so strict and stiff prefect be so... so... in love.

"Shall we build a snow-sebbie, Seb?"

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 18 2003, 04:46 PM

Pushing herself up on her toes, Sariss placed a kiss on the side of Seb’s mouth. He was sure his nose and cheeks were red as it is, and the blush from the random hug and kiss would blend in. He smiled down at her uneasily as she adjusted his scarf around his head. Seb let out a small sigh as he remembered how his Granma used to do the same, and make sure his hat and gloves were on, and had a heat charm placed on them.

"Shall we build a snow-sebbie, Seb?"

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he looked down to Sariss noticing she had finished fiddling with his Slytherin scarf. “Hm oh, oh yeah lets. We can make a snow-sebbie, a snow-sariss and,” Seb paused to lick his lips, a second after wishing he didn’t as the cold hit them, “..er, and um we can make a snow-pineapple?”

Unwardly, he began to curse himself. Seb could hear himself as if he were outside his body, listening to him stammer and talk random nonsense. It happened a lot when he had to speak in front of people he didn’t know, or was very nervous and unsure about something. Letting out a short blast of condensed air from his mouth, Seb pointed to some random snow.

“Well, we have the time, and the snow, so what are we waiting for?”

Seb bent down after making sure he wouldn’t accidentally stab himself in his side with his wand and began to collect some snow. Standing back up, he patted some snow into his hand before throwing it to Sariss. “Er, oops, slipped? – I reckon that it’ll take only about 5 minutes for my fingers to drop off.” He nodded as he brushed the remaining snow off his hands.

He was trying his hardest to ignore the sickly fear feeling in his stomach, and it was almost working too. Maybe, he thought, he just needed to try a little harder, for Sari’s sake. It hadn't been long since the DE's had left, and only they and God knew if they had really left at all. He had saw for himself the nifty thing they did to make themselves look 'invisible'.

Posted by: Sariss Nov 18 2003, 05:44 PM

“Well, we have the time, and the snow, so what are we waiting for?”

Sariss smiled. "A gigantic snow pineapple... And afterwards we might get some real pineapples if we can get a house elf to--."

Seb had bent down and begun to shove some snow into a small pile. Well, better get started. He was right. It was too funny. Whenever in history had a snow pineapple been built?

Sariss followed suit and began to pile the snow, but she used her feet for this. Having bought nice warm boots that were just right for this task, she managed to move quite a bit of snow in a very short time and had just babbled about the gigantic pineapple they'd build and all, when a something soft hit her in the shoulder. She gave a little gasp, waiting for the heat and pain that a curse would surely bring with itself and froze for a few seconds, her heart hammering inside her chest.

“Er, oops, slipped? – I reckon that it’ll take only about 5 minutes for my fingers to drop off,” Seb's voice penetrated the cloud of fear that had risen all around Sariss; she hated this fear, repeating to herself, like a mantra, All is well, all is well, all is well...

The Aurors were there. The teachers were alert. Everybody was keeping their eyes open and their wands at the ready.

Open eyes hadn't been of much use though, Sariss had heard. The Death Eaters had found a way to render themselves as good as invisible... So... technically, they could appear any moment now, if they wanted to...

Sariss shuddered involuntarily. She laughed uneasily and bent down to pat the snow into shape. "Just not used to the cold yet," she tried to cover up the signs of fear, the shaking hands and the slightly gasping intakes of breath.

It didn't do to allow herself to be frozen with fear. Fear destroyed all happiness and warmth; and Sariss did not have much of both. She refused to let the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters take this from her.

Sariss surreptiously picked up a handful of snow and lobbed it towards Seb.

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 19 2003, 12:40 AM

Seb frowned as the snow hit him on the chest. “What do you mean? Not used to the… Its been cold now for well over a month.” He knew she was lying, and he also knew he had scared her. Seb realised he should have called out first, and then she would’ve knew it was him, but it would’ve spoilt the fun and surprise of the snowball.

Hmph. The Second year thought to himself, as he once more began to pick up more snow. It seemed that Seb’s love for snow had melted. Why did I like it anyway? It gets me wet, cold, ill, and I slip when it ices over.

He squatted down and grabbed an armful of the fresh snow, stood back up and dropped it near Sariss, his cloak now left with a film of white snow. “How are we going to do this anyway?” Seb asked his girlfriend, “Roll two massive balls and put the small one on top of the other, or build it up from the base? Some people do it different ways y’see.” He began to kick the snow backwards with the heel of his boots absent mindedly and watched the mist rise up each time he let out a breath.

Sari’s cheeks were flushed red, Seb noticed, only it wasn’t from her trademark blush, but the cold. Oh how he hated going into a roasting hot room from the bitter cold of the outside in winter time. The way his face and hands would to red raw and stung from the sudden change in temperature was enough to drive someone insane, especially someone like Seb whose eyes would literally water from the annoying painful stinging. Maybe there was some kind of charm for it? It was something he would have to ask Sariss before they went back inside. Surely she would know, Seb thought to himself, feeling once more proud of his girlfriends intelligence.

Posted by: Sariss Nov 19 2003, 01:05 AM

"Um... haven't really thought about it..." Sariss admitted with a grimace. She hadn't built a snowman (let alone a snow-pineapple) since she'd been a very small child. And a child did not think about a strategy; it just piled the snow, patted it until it was firm and there the snowman was, whether it resembled one or not.

She sniffed. The cold made her nose a bit runny. Her cheeks were so cold that she could indeed feel them. But it felt good. So fresh. A welcome change from the (real or only imagined) stuffiness of the Slytherin Common Room.

"I guess it'll depend on whether we're building a man or a pineapple..." She had to grin. It sounded so odd. She could almost hear someone say something along the lines of,

'Are you a man or a pineapple?!'

'Pineapple, ma'am!'

All the time, she'd been scuttling around in the deep snow, shoving heaps of immaculate white slightly sticky snow towards the small mountain that would be their source of material for a while. No matter whether it would be a man or a pineapple, it would be of considerable size, life-size for the man and... well... a pineapple of fairly gigantic measurements.

"Maybe we should build a pineapple... In memory of Narf or something," Sariss gave a little giggle, remembering the events of the previous year that had been connected to the infamous Narf. True, Sariss had not been in the middle of events, but something as odd as that had been hardly to miss. She didn't quite remember what exactly had happened to this particular pineapple, but she thought that it had been turned into juice when it had become overly ripe and drunk by a little unsuspecting Hufflepuff...

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 19 2003, 01:30 AM

"Maybe we should build a pineapple... In memory of Narf or something," Sariss had said, as she pushed more snow to their pile.

Seb let out a tut. “My poor pineapple. First he gets fruitknapped from me as soon as we were introduced, he has his name changed, then he gets it on with a pear, and.. and then he gets drank! What is UP wit that?” Seb was a little upset about that, when he was told a first year had drank him. A small part of him still had some hope that Kittie might one day return his beloved pineapple, but it would never be.

“Ok then. A pineapple it is. I just wonder how we’re going to get the leaf things to stay right, without falling off. Thaaaaaaaank the lord for magic, eh?”

He began to pile more snow onto the heap with Sariss. It was a shame that all this would eventually turn to mucky mud slush then probably ice over for a while. Unless it would snow more? Hopefully, Seb looked upwards towards the sky, in hopes of seeing some sighs of more snow. But instead he saw a few owls fly over head. Probably replies from worried family members, he realised. Well his parents wouldn’t owl him. They knew if they didn’t get a Floo from someone from the school, he was ok.

“If you’re happy and you know it, play in snow!” Seb quietly sung to himself, “Just ignore the yellow parts,” he added on, dropping the singing for a chuckle.

Posted by: Sariss Nov 19 2003, 01:47 AM

"Yellow parts? Ahem..." Sariss gave a little mock-scandalised cough. "Even though a pineapple is by nature somewhat yellowish..."

She assumed a somewhat McGonagall-ish stance and accent. "... this won't be an acceptable look for your project here, Mr Darwin. I expect pure whiteness. A finer white than Mrs Sparkly Sparkly-White Washing Powder can create. Do I make myself clear?"

Had she managed to keep a halfway straight expression during the first half of her performance, she had had a bit of trouble getting the name of the washing powder out already. The last few syllables had probably been unrecognisable to Seb already.

But it was good to joke and have fun. Sariss almost forgot how scared she was of the Death Eaters. She might be rather talented with her wand, but the disadvantage remained: Any fully-trained wizard would finish her off within the blink of an eye.

Well, nothing as good as playing in the snow like children to drive the fear away. She had to remind herself that now was probably the safest time. After an attack, everybody was still in shock and probably just as frightened as Sariss and Seb were. Even the teachers. But they were the ones with the power.

Tiny Professor Flitwick was probably the most powerful professor in the castle, apart from Professor Dumbledore, naturally.

Sariss wanted to one day be as powerful as the little professor. That was her goal. This was what made her trudge down into the Duelling Chamber every day and duel as though her life depended on it (which it actually might, one day).

The Death Eaters were gone for now, and Sariss tried to convince herself that they'd not come back soon.

Sariss shook her head slightly, trying to shake those thoughts out of her mind and shoved another armful of snow on top of the about hiphigh mountain that Seb and she had managed to create by now. That could be the height of the pineapple... And the odd green leaves would have to sit on top of this as soon as it had about the right shape.

She began to brush and pat the load of snow into shape, throwing Seb a small smile and asking him to join her.

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 20 2003, 12:45 AM

"... this won't be an acceptable look for your project here, Mr Darwin. I expect pure whiteness. A finer white than Mrs Sparkly Sparkly-White Washing Powder can create. Do I make myself clear?"

Seb’s eyes widened. “Yes Miss, No Miss, three bags full, Miss! As clear as crystal! Just don’t give me a detention! Spending all that time with you would drive me mad, Miss!” Grinning, he began to help Sariss pat down the snow into shape, as requested. He wasn’t that artistic, so his side of the pineapple would probably look quite out of shape, and lob sided. Seb just hoped Sariss wasn’t a perfectionist.

“So, classes start again soon, eh?” He asked, hoping to bring the atmosphere to as normal as it could get. “I’ll have to learn the new timetable, urgh, not that I want to. It gives me an excuse to annoy you when I ask you repeatedly what classes we have.” Seb grinned to himself as he brushed off a layer of snow, accidentally making the bottom crumble. Hoping Sariss didn’t notice, he pushed it flat with his foot.

Although it still was more or less a hill of snow, Seb took a step back to admire their work; the snow crunching under foot. “Meh.” He walked back to it and watched as Sariss was still moulding the snow. “Hey…?” He said, to get her attention, a small smile flew across his face as he leant in and kissed her, resting one snowy hand on her shoulder.

He couldn’t help it. She looked so lovely, stood there framed by the snow behind her. She was his snow angel at this time. He didn’t need to fall back into the snow and flap like mad to find one. He had one already. Pulling back he looked into her eyes. “Happy New Year. And once more, I need to be random. So…”

The Slytherin took a few steps back, paused, looked at Sariss then began to jump up and down around in a circle, kicking the snow about as he went. Seb’s head bopped side to side then started to wave his arms around. “Laa la laaa la laaaaa! And..” he stopped, “I’m done.”

It seemed that his love for snow had returned which was good. Someone in the school had to be happy. True, people had been hurt, or worse, but all it took was one happy person to spread the happiness bug. Like a smile, it was contagious. They had to pick up the pieces, and get on with their life, even if it seemed impossible.

Posted by: Sariss Nov 20 2003, 01:29 AM

“So, classes start again soon, eh? I’ll have to learn the new timetable, urgh, not that I want to. It gives me an excuse to annoy you when I ask you repeatedly what classes we have.”

Sariss smiled to herself. It was good to see that some things were still as they had been last term. Seb was probably still reluctant to do homework and he'd still just follow the crowd to the classrooms--or ask Sariss. Well, not like he'd have to follow the crowd, as Seb and Sariss were as good as inseparable. Even when they could not be together for an hour or two, they were still together in spirit as they knew the respective other person was just a short five-minute walk through the castle away.

She giggled. "Not like you'd have to ask me, Seb. I fear I'm talking about classes too much as it is, so I'll probably mention the schedule about five times a day... More if the mood strikes me."

Seb, just as she herself, was patting the oddly shaped heap of snow into shape and eventually stood up to have a look at it from a few feet distance.

“Meh.” A quite indecisive noise. Could mean anything really.

The snow made those lovely calming noises under the soles of Seb's shoes when he returned to the 'working area.'

“Hey…?”

"Hmm?" Sariss asked and turned around, steadying herself a bit by holding on to the faintly egg-shaped sculpture.

As Seb leant in for a kiss, Sariss's cheeks flushed hotly, and she was sure that if she hadn't worn thick gloves, her hand would have melted the snow just like the bones in her body seemed to melt.

She smiled at Seb when he pulled back, her face probably still glowing, although it should be hard to tell with the crispy cold breeze that was blowing .

“Happy New Year. And once more, I need to be random. So…”

Seb went into somewhat of a really mad dance routine. It looked so funny that Sariss--due to her laughter--couldn't keep balance in her odd position anymore (she had been somewhat crouching on the ground all the time) and landed flat on her derriere. She giggled. Her entire back was most certainly white now. Snow was in her hair. The flour-like layer of it was like a cold white cloud of dust around her.

“Laa la laaa la laaaaa! And..”

Sariss could almost imagine that it started to rain due to Seb's odd dance.

“I’m done,” he announced finally and Sariss could finally catch her breath again. She sat up, grinning. A snow-Sariss was probably unnecessary now as she was covered in it.

"You're crazy," Sariss nodded vigorously and wiped the tears of laughter away. "Yes, indeed. Absolutely."

She surreptitiously reached for a handful of snow and lobbed it at Seb, grinning at him.

Having fun had become fun. It was no more just a distraction from all the bad things that had happened, no longer just a means to drown out the fear; it had become what it should be. An afternoon of fun in the snow. Snow, snow, snow! Heaps of it! So much that they could have the snowball fight of their lifetime and build a pineapple the size of a man.

Sariss reached for another handful of snow and threw it at Seb...

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 20 2003, 10:43 PM

Seb received a face full of snow, “You cheeky little--” and another, just clipping the top of his head. His eyes narrowed playfully down at Sariss. “You should start to get up and run away,” He told her, as he carefully bent down to get a hand full of snow, whilst still keeping his eyes on her, “Because I am going to put snow down your back, in your ears, up your nose and god knows where else. You think its cold now?”

This was how it was meant to be. Fun! After all, they were still classed as children, and children were not suppose to have a care in the world. But unfortunately they had all the stress and trouble along side their Professors. Not like he had helped much, he spend most of the attack hiding with Sariss. He would’ve been more of a hindrance anyway. That was his excuse. Probably would’ve stood there, asking a Professor what to do and where to point his wand no doubt. Thankfully the Death Eaters had backed off, leaving Seb immensely proud of his Professors, and even some students. Seb still thought it was foolish of some though, to go running into the middle of things with as little knowledge as they did.

Patting a snowball into shape, he rose up to stand then raised his arm, “I’ll give you the chance to get up at least,” Seb told her, “But no magic, ok? Or I’ll class you as Sariss cheat-a-lot.” Seb threw it anyway, “Oh who am I kidding?” Rolling his eyes, he then proceeded to kick some snow at her, letting out a childish chuckle as he then ran behind the snow-napple.

“Ner ner ner!”

Posted by: Sariss Nov 20 2003, 11:16 PM

Sariss squealed and rolled out of the way of the cloud of snow that Seb was kicking her way. The little coward all but dived behind the supposed pineapple very soon after he had sung, “Ner ner ner!”

She lay there in the snow for a moment, laughing breathlessly. Her stomach was hurting already. She could hardly breathe.

"You..." she gasped inbetween laughs. "You maniac... You..."

Eventually, she rose on her knees and, as soundlessly as possible at all, she crept towards the 'pineapple' behind which Seb was hiding. If it weren't for those little giggling noises that kept escaping her, she might have managed it too.

Sariss's robes were totally covered in snow; it had crawled under her scarf and it was melting and running down her back, leaving an icy trail behind. Bits of snow had been pressed into her braid too and would cause her hair to get wet as soon as they entered the castle.

She grinned devilishly as she formed a nice big snowball... and another one.

"Oh Seb..." Sariss poked her noise around one side of the pineapple and tried to throw one of her snowballs in a little curve, so it might hit Seb. A proper snowball fight might not be in the least detrimental to her Chaser skills...

Giggling madly, she quickly scuttled to the other side of the pineapple, and only a second after the first snowball, she thew the second one at Seb, hoping that he'd try to avoid being hit by the first one by just diving to the other side, straight into the second one...

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 20 2003, 11:35 PM

The air was filled with their laughter as the snowball fight started. Seb didn't think he had ever heard Sariss laugh so much. He always thought of her as very quiet, and shy; he now knew differently.

"You..." Seb heard Sariss gasp with laughter. "You maniac... You..."

He chuckled to himself, nodding his head agreeing with her, not like she could see him. A little giggle, and the sound of snow crunching underfoot told Seb that Sariss had moved and was preparing her attack.

Bring it ooonnn... Seb thought, crouched behind the crumbling pineapple base.

"Oh Seb..." The Slytherin male heard to his left and saw a part of Sariss' come round, snowball in hand. She shot it and Seb jumped to his right and got ready to laugh, only to be hit in the face with another snowball. He gagged as a few pieces fell into his mouth.

Whoever said snow tasted of icecream was a liar.

By now, Seb had jumped back behind his side of the giant base of the snow-napple. "My turn." Seb confirmed, and picked up a handful of snow and patted it into a ball. Letting out a little laugh, he throw it high up in the air, shouting "Bombs away!", with the hope of getting Sariss to shift her attention to the snowball in the air. Then as quickly as he could with both hands, pushed a few inches off the top of their snow-napple base towards her.

At least SOME of the snow had to get her.

Posted by: Sariss Nov 20 2003, 11:52 PM

Sariss didn't see when the snowball hit, but she could hear it rather well. His laughter got cut short by the second showball, and Sariss giggled an congratulated herself on her plan. So simple, yet so efficient.

"Bombs away!" came Seb's voice eventually, after he had spit out the snow.

Yes, right... As if Sariss would fall for that one. Nope... Not a chance. Not a chance in all the world that she'd do what Seb probably expected her to do. She'd not dive to the side. No, siree! She'd not jump up and run. Uh-uh. She'd just sit there and--

(Sariss froze and coughed and spluttered when it happened and blinked, somewhat dumb-struck.)

--be buried under a thin layer of snow.

Rather stupid of her to not bring a hat or something, really. She hadn't thought it necessary as they were so close to the castle and the physical exertion of pushing and piling snow and bombarding each other with snowballs should keep her warm... but now she wished she had put something on her head. Well, not just something. Technically, she had something on her head now, though not what she had in mind.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, she shook her head, causing more snow to slip into the folds of her scarf and inside her robes eventually. She'd be soaked through and through soon.

Oh, but revenge would be sweet. "You'll pay for this," she threatened playfully, trying not to snigger too badly.

Sariss grabbed some of the snow that was on her lap, quickly formed another set of snowballs and lobbed them upwards, aiming for the other side of the pineapple. No matter whether Seb was still standing or crouching down already... one of them might hit him... or just miss narrowly... and in that case, Sariss had another snowball which she sent after the two first ones a couple of seconds later.

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 21 2003, 12:25 AM

"You'll pay for this," Seb heard Sariss call over to him. From the sound of the spluttering before hand, the trick obviously worked. Sweet!

Seb laughed, “Is that a promise? Because if it is, I mig—AH! I’m under attack!”

Her attack of snowballs began to fall down, falling one after the other onto of Seb’s head. “Sound the alarm! Snowballs at 12 o’clock and coming in fast!” He shouted, putting his hands over his head. Snow fell down his back, into the folds of his scarf, and completely soaked his head. Shuddering, he tried to move the pieces of ice snow as it melted slowly down his back. “Cold cold! Sweet mother of mercy...”

As the snowballs ceased to fall, Seb began to brush the snow off his head; his hair spiking up until he brushed it back downwards. He was just about to say how lucky she was he had his hair cut, and didn’t have to worry about messing it up again, when a second lot of snowballs began to fall down. They hit his shoulder and his now cold head, leaving blobs of snow.

“Good lord! Will they ever stop?” Seb laughed out loud, diving out from behind of the snow pineapple, landing next to Sariss. Covered with new blobs of snow, Seb looked up at Sariss, his nose twitching a little from a flake or two of snow from where he landed. “I think you got me.”

Although most of the previously freshly flat snow had been trampled on, Seb flung his left arm to his side, so he would be lying on his back in the snow. “Time for a Sebbie Angel!” With that, he began to flap his arms from his side, the same with his left. “If it’s good enough, I’ll give it a halo too!” He added, laughing at the thought.

Well, he was getting soaked as it was with the snow, so Seb reasoned that a snow angel wouldn't make too much difference. Eventually they would get too cold and head inside for a quick shower, then warm up in front of the Common Room fire. Nice and cosy.

Posted by: Sariss Nov 21 2003, 01:03 AM

"A halo to hide your horns, you devilishly handsome snowball fighter?" Sariss teased, resisting the temptation to drop an entire armful of snow on Seb who was rather defenceless at the moment.

She leant her back against the remains of what was once supposed to become a pineapple. Secretly, Sariss doubted that it would be finished now that they were both rather soaked and all. Seb probably more so than Sariss.

Softly chuckling to herself, Sariss grabbed some snow, gathered it in her lap and began to form something that somewhat resembled the shape of an egg. She grinned and scrambled to her feet, slipping several times on the snow that had been pressed so flat by now that it had become somewhat of a slippery surface.

Eventually, she managed to pull herself up, the wanna-be pineapple being of great assistance to her in accomplishing this task. Sariss brushed off her robes best as she could... meaning, not very successfully. The snow seemed to think it was supposed to behave like glue. It stuck to every fold of her robes and scarf.

With a grin, she brushed and patted the surface of the would-probably-never-be pineapple flat and plopped the big egg-shaped snowball that she'd formed previously onto it. It was the size of an average pineapple. Coincidence? Nope.

She smiled at Seb for a moment. He looked so cute. His cheeks were all flushed from the cold and the laughter and everything.

"A little Narf," she mumbled more to herself than him and began to attempt to construct the surface of a pineapple, which got boring after about thirty seconds, causing her to resort to attempting to try and build the top of the fruit...

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 23 2003, 01:04 AM

“A halo to hide your horns, you devilishly handsome snowball fighter?" Sariss had said. Seb had stopped making a Seb-Angel to look at her, ignoring how cold and wet his back had become.

Woohoo! Devilishly handsome! Go me! Resisting the urge to stand up and do his ‘I’m handsome!’ dance, Seb sat up, wondering how he would manage to stand without ruining his piece of artwork.

Sariss by now had made something that resembled a pure white giant dragons egg. Seb watched as she failed to brush the remaining snow off her robes and placed the not-so-big ball of snow onto the quite-big blob of snow. After smiling at Seb, she mumbled something that Seb was just able to make out as “Little Narf.”

Oh the pain! Seb chuckled once again at the memory of his pet pineapple which had been pineapple-knapped, and eventually met it’s maker in a juice carton.

“I’m sure he’ll be glad of the remembrance statue.” Seb said, standing up ever so carefully, then slipped his way around to the other side of the blob of snow. Sariss was trying to construct the leaf-y bits which were to rest on top of the pineapple. “what would happen… if.. I were to do… This!”

With his finger pointed in the air, he zoomed it down towards the piece of snow on top of the new pineapple base Sariss was working on. One little push of his finger and all the leafy indents would be ruined. One little flick of his finger and it would be all over.

Instead he withdrew his hand and uncomfortably moved his shoulders and his back. The wind had gathered up strength and was blowing onto his wet back.

“We should go in soon,” Seb told Sariss, his childish tone disappearing, “Before we catch pneumonia.”

Posted by: Sariss Nov 23 2003, 01:33 AM

“What would happen… if.. I were to do… This!”

Seb moved as though he were about to flick the only fainly pineapple-leaf-like-looking snowy bits away from the top of the cone. Sariss already opened her mouth to say something, whine about it, complain or just utter an attack call, grab the feeble remains of the pineapple and shove it into his collar...

Lucky for him, he didn't destroy her 'true work of art', the monument for a brave little pineapple whose short life had ended in juice. May Narf, the pineapple that had previously been affectionately referred to as 'pineapple,' rest in peace with its melting monument symbolising the squeezing that had led to its untimely demise.

“We should go in soon. Before we catch pneumonia,” Seb said, his tone of voice no longer light-hearted and cheerful but very serious as he shuddered in the cold wind.

He was right. They were both thoroughly soaked through by now. The snow had crawled everywhere. Even into her boots. If only it were still snow. It had melted. That meant that it had run down to her two pairs of socks... and down her back and simply everywhere.

And the thought of warming up in front of the fire in the Slytherin Common Room was strangely appealing. So was the thought of having a nice hot dinner. Something with thick and spicey gravy would be nice. For some reason, Sariss liked this very much during winter when it was all cold outside. It warmed her from the inside. Yum.

She sniffled. The cold had made her nose freeze a bit. It was runny from the air that was condensing when she breathed in through her nose. Rather annoying really.

"You're right," she smiled at him. This afternoon had become rather nice after somewhat of a melancholy and fearful start. "If we hurry a bit, we can get dry clothes and be at dinner just in time."

Posted by: Woden Nov 23 2003, 03:18 AM

An owl landed on top of the marvelous snow creation with a pair of "Weird Sisters" tickets and the following note.

QUOTE

Sebastian,

These complementary tickets are for you and a date to the concert next Saturday in Hogsmeade.

The awaited a treat.

Posted by: Seb_Darwin Nov 23 2003, 10:10 PM

Seb almost jumped out of his skin when the horned owl landed on their mount of snow. He looked at Sariss, thinking it was obviously for her, as he himself never received owl mail. Noticing the note and tickets, Seb shrugged then picked them up.

QUOTE

Sebastian,

These complementary tickets are for you and a date to the concert next Saturday in Hogsmeade.

He read out loud, almost laughing for some strange reason. It was probably the cold. “You hear that? Huh! Who would send me tickets? I didn’t even know they were playing neither! In fact,” Seb looked over the tickets, “It doesn’t say where in Hogsmeade! But hey, free is free. We can just ask Ms. Feline or Uncle Dervish, that us, if you’d like to join me?”

Sariss was about to answer when the owl made itself heard, “Uh, I guess he wants a treat?” Seb patted the owl on the head, “I own lizards, lil fella, I don’t go around with owl treats in my pockets!”

"Um... just a moment... There might be..." Sariss rummaged around in the pockets of her rather soaked robes, eventually pulling out some of what Seb supposed were Sherlock's treats. They were probably a bit wet and most definitely cold, but a school owl couldn't expect every student to carry about some treats when they were going outside to play, after all.

“Thanks Sariss, there you you go, lil owlie! She has the food!” Seb directed the owl in the direction of Sariss, stood next to him. “I don’t think I’ll put these in my pocket, I’m sure they’ll get soggy.”

Posted by: Woden Nov 23 2003, 10:38 PM

The owl ate the treats and cried a loud screetch and flew back to the castle.

Posted by: Sariss Nov 23 2003, 11:09 PM

Sariss jumped slightly when the owl landed on the structure that Seb and she had built earlier and dropped a note. Seb took it and read it aloud. It was for him. Tickets for a 'Weird Sisters' concert. Sariss blinked and goggled. Who would be so generous as to give away two tickets for an event such as this? The 'Weird Sisters' were the most famous wizarding singers in the entire wizarding world! Or... well... at least in wizarding Britain!

Oh yes... The owl wanted treats now...

Sariss rummaged around in her robes and mumbled something only half-coherent, still stunned about the message that Seb had received, and totally speechless and overwhelmed when he asked her whether she wanted to join him when he went to that concert.

Eventually, she pulled out some owl treats that she had forgotten to remove before-hand. Scatterbrained Sariss. But as it seemed even that had its uses sometimes. She held out the treats. “Thanks Sariss, there you you go, lil owlie! She has the food!”

The owl nibbled the treats, not complaining that they were a bit wet and took off again, probably already being awaited somewhere to be sent on yet another errant. Sariss smiled. What an un-spoilt owl! She had met owls who would peck your hand if the treats weren't the best of the best.

“I don’t think I’ll put these in my pocket, I’m sure they’ll get soggy,” Seb mused and held the tickets in his hand instead of pocketing them.

Sariss grinned at him. "This is so awesome!" she exclaimed. "I would love to join you there, of course! Thank you sooooooo much! I always wanted to go on one of their concerts but... well... somehow it's never quite worked out..." She was so exuberant that she was only an inch away from bouncing up and down like only Maria usually did.

There was another sudden gust of wind and Sariss shivered. If they stayed outside for much longer in the state that they were in, they'd both end up with Pepper-Up Potion and steaming ears.

"Let's go back inside then? Now we'll really have to hurry if we want to get halfway dry before dinner is served..."

"Well stop dawdling and get a move on!! Bloody hungry, I am!” he exclaimed and grabbed Sariss by the arm, dragging her with him. She squealed and laughed, stumbling after him through the snow towards the castle. Her stomach was grumbling and she really wanted a pile of steaming food now.

And so it was that Seb and Sariss went back inside after one of the most enjoyable afternoons they'd ever spent together, leaving the little snow-Narf behind, all alone on this large lump of snow, in the cold, unprotected and left to its own devices.