Challenge #64 and #77
Title: You Can't See Me
Rating/Warnings: PG
Characters/Pairing: one-sided Albus/Scorpius.
Summary: Scorpius takes a walk before a Quidditch match.
Word Count: 702
Author's Notes: Written for Challenge#77:Next-generation.
Registered purchases?: Both
Scorpius liked to take longs walks the night before important events. Tomorrow his team, the Slytherin team, would play the Quidditch final against the Gryffindors in the most anticipated match of the past decade. The houses had equal number of points and the capturing of the Quidditch Cup brought a massive advantage to the winning team in the race for the House Cup. So he wanted to calm down and relax, so he went for a walk around the grounds. The common room was certainly not a good place for him because everybody was fussing and the tension of the match was too much, especially since he was the Seeker, the player that decided the end of the match and, most of the times, the victory.
The grounds, however, were quiet and still in the beautiful sunset. He walked over to the lake, sat down on its edge and looked for the giant squid. He always provided great entertainment, without even knowing he had spectators. What Scorpius didn't expect was someone coming towards him. After a closer look, he recognized the figure in the distance. It was Albus Potter, his best friend and fellow Slytherin.
"Hi, Scorpius," the thin boy said as he sat down, "fancied seeing you here."
"Hey, Al." Scorpius replied, his gaze back on the giant squid.
"Nervous?"
"Me? You must be joking. I'm never nervous before Quidditch."
"You sound like my brother, with all the fake confidence and show-off attitude."
Scorpius sighed and turned towards his friend.
"Okay, Al, I'm terrified. If we lose, we're screwed. If I don't catch the Snitch, we lose, therefore screwed. So it's basically up to me whether we're screwed or not."
"It'll be fine." Albus replied after a prolonged silence. "You're an excellent Seeker on an excellent broomstick. You've proved your talent, so why would it go wrong tomorrow?"
"So many things can go wrong in a game of Quidditch, Albus, you know that. And by the way, who will you be cheering for?"
"Who do you think?"
"Well, you could cheer for your own house or your could cheer for the house of your siblings, friends, parents and entire extended family. Tough choice if you ask me."
Albus didn't respond.
"So?" Scorpius insisted.
"It's not even a choice. It's obvious that I'm cheering for Slytherin. But not because it's my house. At least, not only for that reason."
Scorpius raised an eyebrow and gestured for Albus to continue. He hesitated.
"I'm cheering for you, Scorpius." Albus eventually said, giving the other boy a significant look.
"You're a great friend, Al, you know that?" Scorpius smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, if you say so." Albus said and looked away, disliking the slight pang of hurt at Scorpius's words. The blonde boy didn't notice the shift in his mood though and went on.
"What about Rose? Who do you think she's cheering for?"
"Gryffindor I suppose."
"Come on, Al," Scorpius chuckled, "we both know she has a huge crush on me."
"Yeah, well, crush or no crush, she's still a Gryffindor."
"True. But I'm sure she won't mind Gryffindor losing after I ask her out."
Albus's jaw dropped. This conversation was certainly not going in the direction he wanted.
"You're…you're asking her out?"
"Yeah obviously! Why do you sound so disappointed? It's not like you like her or anything, right? She's your cousin for Merlin's sake!"
"Of course I don't like her that way, you idiot. And what makes you think I'm disappointed?"
"Good to know you're not. Now, we'd better head back to the common room or we'll get into trouble."
Scorpius got to his feet, but Albus stayed were he was.
"You go, I'll come back later."
"Whatever you want, Al. But you know Filch is on our tracks. Don't lose us the points I'll win tomorrow."
But Albus's ears seemed to have shut down. He didn't get up even after the chilly evening breeze made him shiver. He had to stay here, had to compose himself before seeing Scorpius again. Before he'd go back and pretend he's happy with being his best friend and that it doesn't hurt that Scorpius only has eyes for Rose Weasley.
Title: Fun in the Snow
Rating/Warnings: PG
Characters/Pairing: Hermione/Ron
Summary: Ron's first time skiing does not go well.
Word Count: 584
Author's Notes: Written for Challenge#64: Winter Sports.
Registered purchases?: Both
"I still can't believe how you managed to convince me to go skiing with you." Ron muttered, annoyed at how uncomfortable the ski boots were and how weird he felt in the tight-fitting ski costume.
"I am quite sure you remember exactly how I convinced you." Hermione smirked and winked and Ron blushed at the memory.
"Well, yeah, I do. But that still doesn't change the fact that I'm dressed like a creature from another planet and I'm wearing some boots that make me walk like a duck that has back problems."
"Now now, Ronald. Just be patient and you'll see that it will all be worth the feeling you get when you zoom down the slope."
They were standing in the queue to get on the lifts that would take them at the top of the hill. It was a gorgeous day, a perfect for winter sports and Hermione was a huge fan of skiing. Ron had not been too excited at the prospect of Muggle sports, but he had warmed up to the idea and was now waiting anxiously to try skiing for the first time.
"Hermione, are you sure I won't break my back or anything?" He asked hesitantly as they embarked on the lift.
"No, silly, stop worrying. The hill's not too steep so all you have to do is keep control of your body and try not to go too fast. It will be fine."
"Yeah, easy for you to say that. You've been skiing ever since you were a toddler, so it was always easy for you. I'm going to make a fool of myself, I'm sure of that."
"Oh loosen up, Ron."
"I never thought I'd hear the day when you tell me to loosen up."
"What are you implying, Ronald Weasley?"
"I'm not implying anything, Hermione Granger. I'm just stating a fact. Now look, we're here. Guess it's time for us to have some fun."
Hermione zoomed away quickly, sliding quickly down the slope with expert movements. It was obvious that she had done this many times before and she was very skilled at it. Ron on the other hand, was obviously inexperienced. He fell after a few minutes of flailing his hands around and moving his legs chaotically. He lost his balance and fell flat on his face, rolling over a couple of times. To make it worse, a skier that was behind him couldn't avoid him and collided with him.
"I'm so sorry! I've never skied before, I'm-"
"Stoopid boy!" Said the other man in a very think accent. "Get off ze trail if you can't ski!" He got up and sped off.
Come to think about it, he was right, Ron thought. It had been quite stupid of him to try skiing on a trail straight away. Still busy tying his boots again, he didn't notice a figure approaching him.
"Still here?"
"Hermione! How did you get here?"
"The lifts obviously! I've already been down and got back! And as I can see, you haven't fared that well."
"Well no, so get here and help me up." He snapped.
"No reason to be so rude, Ronald." She helped him up and smiled. "I'll help you down if you ask me nicely."
"Fine. Just get me out of here. Please."
It is an understatement that Ron never tried skiing again in his life.
702/30=23.4 = 23 points
564/30=18.8 = 19 points
TOTAL: 23+19= 42 points (maxed out) for Hufflepuff!
Rating/Warnings: PG
Characters/Pairing: one-sided Albus/Scorpius.
Summary: Scorpius takes a walk before a Quidditch match.
Word Count: 702
Author's Notes: Written for Challenge#77:Next-generation.
Registered purchases?: Both
Scorpius liked to take longs walks the night before important events. Tomorrow his team, the Slytherin team, would play the Quidditch final against the Gryffindors in the most anticipated match of the past decade. The houses had equal number of points and the capturing of the Quidditch Cup brought a massive advantage to the winning team in the race for the House Cup. So he wanted to calm down and relax, so he went for a walk around the grounds. The common room was certainly not a good place for him because everybody was fussing and the tension of the match was too much, especially since he was the Seeker, the player that decided the end of the match and, most of the times, the victory.
The grounds, however, were quiet and still in the beautiful sunset. He walked over to the lake, sat down on its edge and looked for the giant squid. He always provided great entertainment, without even knowing he had spectators. What Scorpius didn't expect was someone coming towards him. After a closer look, he recognized the figure in the distance. It was Albus Potter, his best friend and fellow Slytherin.
"Hi, Scorpius," the thin boy said as he sat down, "fancied seeing you here."
"Hey, Al." Scorpius replied, his gaze back on the giant squid.
"Nervous?"
"Me? You must be joking. I'm never nervous before Quidditch."
"You sound like my brother, with all the fake confidence and show-off attitude."
Scorpius sighed and turned towards his friend.
"Okay, Al, I'm terrified. If we lose, we're screwed. If I don't catch the Snitch, we lose, therefore screwed. So it's basically up to me whether we're screwed or not."
"It'll be fine." Albus replied after a prolonged silence. "You're an excellent Seeker on an excellent broomstick. You've proved your talent, so why would it go wrong tomorrow?"
"So many things can go wrong in a game of Quidditch, Albus, you know that. And by the way, who will you be cheering for?"
"Who do you think?"
"Well, you could cheer for your own house or your could cheer for the house of your siblings, friends, parents and entire extended family. Tough choice if you ask me."
Albus didn't respond.
"So?" Scorpius insisted.
"It's not even a choice. It's obvious that I'm cheering for Slytherin. But not because it's my house. At least, not only for that reason."
Scorpius raised an eyebrow and gestured for Albus to continue. He hesitated.
"I'm cheering for you, Scorpius." Albus eventually said, giving the other boy a significant look.
"You're a great friend, Al, you know that?" Scorpius smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, if you say so." Albus said and looked away, disliking the slight pang of hurt at Scorpius's words. The blonde boy didn't notice the shift in his mood though and went on.
"What about Rose? Who do you think she's cheering for?"
"Gryffindor I suppose."
"Come on, Al," Scorpius chuckled, "we both know she has a huge crush on me."
"Yeah, well, crush or no crush, she's still a Gryffindor."
"True. But I'm sure she won't mind Gryffindor losing after I ask her out."
Albus's jaw dropped. This conversation was certainly not going in the direction he wanted.
"You're…you're asking her out?"
"Yeah obviously! Why do you sound so disappointed? It's not like you like her or anything, right? She's your cousin for Merlin's sake!"
"Of course I don't like her that way, you idiot. And what makes you think I'm disappointed?"
"Good to know you're not. Now, we'd better head back to the common room or we'll get into trouble."
Scorpius got to his feet, but Albus stayed were he was.
"You go, I'll come back later."
"Whatever you want, Al. But you know Filch is on our tracks. Don't lose us the points I'll win tomorrow."
But Albus's ears seemed to have shut down. He didn't get up even after the chilly evening breeze made him shiver. He had to stay here, had to compose himself before seeing Scorpius again. Before he'd go back and pretend he's happy with being his best friend and that it doesn't hurt that Scorpius only has eyes for Rose Weasley.
Title: Fun in the Snow
Rating/Warnings: PG
Characters/Pairing: Hermione/Ron
Summary: Ron's first time skiing does not go well.
Word Count: 584
Author's Notes: Written for Challenge#64: Winter Sports.
Registered purchases?: Both
"I still can't believe how you managed to convince me to go skiing with you." Ron muttered, annoyed at how uncomfortable the ski boots were and how weird he felt in the tight-fitting ski costume.
"I am quite sure you remember exactly how I convinced you." Hermione smirked and winked and Ron blushed at the memory.
"Well, yeah, I do. But that still doesn't change the fact that I'm dressed like a creature from another planet and I'm wearing some boots that make me walk like a duck that has back problems."
"Now now, Ronald. Just be patient and you'll see that it will all be worth the feeling you get when you zoom down the slope."
They were standing in the queue to get on the lifts that would take them at the top of the hill. It was a gorgeous day, a perfect for winter sports and Hermione was a huge fan of skiing. Ron had not been too excited at the prospect of Muggle sports, but he had warmed up to the idea and was now waiting anxiously to try skiing for the first time.
"Hermione, are you sure I won't break my back or anything?" He asked hesitantly as they embarked on the lift.
"No, silly, stop worrying. The hill's not too steep so all you have to do is keep control of your body and try not to go too fast. It will be fine."
"Yeah, easy for you to say that. You've been skiing ever since you were a toddler, so it was always easy for you. I'm going to make a fool of myself, I'm sure of that."
"Oh loosen up, Ron."
"I never thought I'd hear the day when you tell me to loosen up."
"What are you implying, Ronald Weasley?"
"I'm not implying anything, Hermione Granger. I'm just stating a fact. Now look, we're here. Guess it's time for us to have some fun."
Hermione zoomed away quickly, sliding quickly down the slope with expert movements. It was obvious that she had done this many times before and she was very skilled at it. Ron on the other hand, was obviously inexperienced. He fell after a few minutes of flailing his hands around and moving his legs chaotically. He lost his balance and fell flat on his face, rolling over a couple of times. To make it worse, a skier that was behind him couldn't avoid him and collided with him.
"I'm so sorry! I've never skied before, I'm-"
"Stoopid boy!" Said the other man in a very think accent. "Get off ze trail if you can't ski!" He got up and sped off.
Come to think about it, he was right, Ron thought. It had been quite stupid of him to try skiing on a trail straight away. Still busy tying his boots again, he didn't notice a figure approaching him.
"Still here?"
"Hermione! How did you get here?"
"The lifts obviously! I've already been down and got back! And as I can see, you haven't fared that well."
"Well no, so get here and help me up." He snapped.
"No reason to be so rude, Ronald." She helped him up and smiled. "I'll help you down if you ask me nicely."
"Fine. Just get me out of here. Please."
It is an understatement that Ron never tried skiing again in his life.
702/30=23.4 = 23 points
564/30=18.8 = 19 points
TOTAL: 23+19= 42 points (maxed out) for Hufflepuff!