For the Hogwarts Houses Competition

Prompt - going ice skating

Wordcount: 483

Beta: Pix, Aya

There were very few things Ron enjoyed. Mostly because there were very few things he was good at.

Most people just saw a chess player and a Quidditch nut and anything else… well, why focus on what he couldn't do?

Ever since he was little, he loved being on the ice. Something about being able to glide about without tripping on his feet and the cold wind on his cheeks just made him feel free. It was like flying on a broom, but this was something he surpassed everyone else at.

Fred and George would poke fun at him for it which is why he didn't do it in front of anyone anymore. That's why he was sneaking out of the castle so early this morning and going off to the pond by himself.

Ron found the little bench by the pond and shoved the layer of snow off of it before he sat down to put on his skates. The blades gleamed in the morning sun, and his fingers felt cold inside his gloves as he laced up the boots. The pond was completely frozen over, just like he thought it would be. He couldn't wait to get out onto the ice.

First, he did a few easy laps around the perimeter of the pond. The ice was so smooth, he felt like he was gliding on glass. Then, after he'd warmed up, he tried out his spins. Ron's time on a broom had perfected his balance, and the spins had come naturally to him.

Ron pumped his legs harder to gain speed, his skates gliding effortlessly over the pond. The thin blades could feel every bump, scratch, and shift of the ice but he didn't let them slow his pace. Pushing off hard, he spun in the air once and landed solely on his left skate, his momentum carrying him backwards.

He spent a good half hour out there on the ice, skating forwards and backwards, spinning and leaping. He felt happy and free. Then, when he was in the middle of what he considered to be a perfect arabesque, he saw movement.

He nearly fell over, trying to see who or what it was, while skipping off the ice. Could he pretend that he hadn't just been doing what he'd been doing if there was actually someone there?

"Why did you stop?"

Ron jumped out of his skin at the voice next to his ear. While he had been looking left, whoever it was had snuck up on his right.

"Hermione! What are you doing out here?" he wailed. He'd been caught. What now?

"I wanted to see where you were going with those skates," she stated matter-of-factly. "I brought my own."

Ron looked at her in amazement. "You… know how to skate?" he asked.

"Erm, no," she said. "But I'd love it if you'd teach me how."